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Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2010 with funding from
Lyrasis IVIembers and Sloan Foundation
http://www.archive.org/details/autobiographyofc04inspur
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY
OF
CHARLES H. SPURGEON
COMPILED FROM
HIS DIARY, LETTERS, AND RECORDS
BY
HIS WIFE
AND
HIS PRIVATE SECRETARY
'TV/,? laiv of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips ; he walked with
Me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity T — malachi ii. 6
VOL. IV. 1 878-1 892
CURTS & JENNINGS
CINCINNATI CHICAGO ST. LOUIS
1900
'^
N^7/7.
CONTENTS OF VOL IV.
Chaptl.^
LXXXIII. Father's FuRLOUcn, and how I Shared it...
LXXXIV. A Double Silver Wedding
LXXXV. Enquirers and Converts ...
LXXXVI. „ „ „ {Continued)
LXXXVII. "Westwood"
LXXXVlil. A TvncAL Week's Work
LXXXIX „ „ „ (ContinuiHi)
XC. Letters on Private and Pubdic Affairs, 1856 — 1890
XCL ,, ,, .. ,> >. (Continued)
XCIL Mr. Sturgeon's Opinions on Subjects of General Interest
XCIIL Appreciative Correspondents, 1855 — 1890
XCIV. ,, ,, (Continued)
XC^^. In the Sunny South ... -
XCVI. „ „ „ (Contimied)
XCVII. Unabated Affection between Pastor and People
XCVI II. Jubilee Joys
XCIX. The " Down-grade " Controversy, from Mr. Spurgeon's
Standpoint ...
C. Mr. Spurgeon as a Literary Man ...
CI ., ,, ,, ,, .. (Contimied)
CII. ,, „ „ ., „ (Concluded)
CIII. The Growth of the Institutions, 1878 — 1892
CIV. My Last Letters from Mentone
CV. The Long Illness
CVI. The Last Three Months at Mentone ;— and Afterwards
General Index to Vols. I. — IV.
Page
I
15
27
37
49
63
11
93
107
121
139
169
196
214
22 '\
^-n
253
265
287
305
320
353
365
379
ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. IV.
Arbour in Dr. Bennet's Garden, Mentone...
Drawing in the Net at Mentone
An Ancient Olive Tree, Mentone
Gorbio, near Mentone ...
Castle and Fountain at Roquebrune. near Mentone
Dolce Acqua, Italy
Palazzo Orengo, La Mortola, Italy...
Entrance to Mr. Hanbury's Garden, La Mortola
Mentone Architecture ...
The Tunnel through the Red Rocks, Mentone ...
Silver Wedding Portraits
" Westwood " Gates, Lodge, and Driv
A Peep across the Lake
The Well in the Garden
Summerhouse, and Bowls on the Law
The House as Viewed from the Lawn
The Boat on the Lake...
The Fernery
"Punch" and "Gyp"
C. H. Spurgeon and his Private Secretary in the Study at
Ready to Start for the Tabernacle
The Lower Platform, Metropolitan Tabernacle, Arran
Prayer-meeting
A Favourite Retreat ...
Out of the World
The Right Hon. the Earl of Shaftesbury, k.g
The Library, Regent's Park College
GED
Westwood
"OR THE
ILLUSTRATIOXS IN VOL. IV.
Silhouettes of Celebrities
A Jubilee Reverie ...
Entrance to Dr. Bennet's Garden, Mentone
U.S.S. "Alabama" in Villefranche Harbour
The Mentone Group, 1880
Saracenic Tower in Dr. Bennet's Garden ...
Italian Guard-house, near Mentone ...
The Chalet des Rosiers and Cypress Walk, Mentone ..
A Pretty Peep, Mentone
The Gorbio Valley, near Mentone ...
The Garden of Hotel d' Italie, Mentone ...
An Olive Garden in the South of P"rance
The Casino and Gardens, Monte Carlo
Laguet, or Laghetto, near Mentone
In the Garden of Hotel Beau Rivage, Mentone...
In the Garden of Villa les Grottes, Mentone ...
C. H. Spurgeon at Mentone, 1886 ...
J. W. Harrald at Mentone, 1886
"Dr. Hanna's Lions," Mentone
Copy of Marble Slab and Inscription on Jubilee House
Portrait and Autograph of Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon
Portrait and Autograph of C. H. Spurgeon
Dr. Gill's Chair...
The C. H. Spurgeon Memorial, Stockwell Orphanage ..
The Study at " Westwood " (second view) ...
C. H. Spurgeon in his Study ...
The Library at "Westwood" (second view)
Mrs. Spurgeon's Book Fund Room on " Packin'g-day " ..
The Empty Chair in the Small Conservatory
A Corner of "The Den." Showing some of Mr. Spurgeon's Puritans
C. H. Spurgeon and the Titles of some of his Works, 1884 ..
Bird's-eye View of the Stockwell Orphanage
Page
185
189
199
198
196
201
202
203
204
205
208
21 I
212
213
214
220
221
222
238
244
245
262
279
287
289
290
293
294
295
307
320
ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. IV.
vu.
'•The Hawthorns," Clapham Road ...
The Boys' Plav-hall, Stockwell Orphanage
C. H. Spurgeon and Group of Orphan Boys
The Four Tutors ok the Pastors' College
C. H. Spurgeon and Ministers at Coli ege Conference,
Ships in Mentone Harijour
Palm Trees in Garden of Hotel Beau Rivage, Mentone
Ventimiglia, Italy
Mr. Spurgeon's Favourite Walk at Mentone
The Scotch Presbyterian Church, Mentone
C. H. Spurgeon Preaching in the Tabernacle, 1891
C. H. Spurgeon's Last Words at the Tabernacle, June
The Surrey Gardens Memorial Hall
Miss E. H. Thorne
The Sitting-room at Mentone...
The Sitting-room at Mentone (second view)
Mr. Spurgeon's "Cosy Corner" at Mentone
The Old Town, Mentone, from the Breakwater
The Fountain on the Turbie Road, near Mentone
View from the Fountain on the Turbie Road
Mr. Spurgeon's Bedroom at Mentone, after his Rfmo\'al
The Funeral Cortege at Mentone Railway Station
The Olive Casket under the Palm Branches in the Tai
The Olive Casket in the Tomb at Norwood Cemetery
C. H. Spurgeon's Monument at Norwood Cemetery
Page
322
.
326
z-^-i
Zl^
1888 ...
zzz
341
344
346
• 350
351
355
7. I89I
• 356
357
. 363
.
• 364
• 366
• 367
• 368
369
37c
• 11^-
Zl 3
bernacle
374
oil
^ 31^
C. H. SPURGEON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY,
CHAPTER LXXXIIL
Jfatljtt's JfuiiDugij, antr jjoto B SljartiJ it
By Pastor Thomas Spurgeon.
The text which for years has been our consolation is that wliich saith, " I liave chosen thee in the
furnace of affliction." Happy enough is the man who is chosen of God ; he may not ask a question as
to when or where. Yet we could wish it were otherwise in our case, and that zi;al and fervour were
not restrained and hampered by being yoked to painful infirmities of the flesh. We could do more, and
we think we may add, without self-confidence, we would do more, if we were not laid prostrate at the
very moment when our work requires our presence. However, unto the Lord be the arrangement of
our health or disease, our life or our death ; but while we live, we will leave no stone unturned for the
increase of His glorious Kingdom in the earth. Every interval of relief shall be laid out in His service.
The time is short, it must therefore be spent all the more economically ; the work is great, the Lord
must be trusted the more simply.
During the Pastor's illness, the pulpit at the Tabernacle has been five times occupied by Mr.
Thomas Spurgeon, and once by Mr. Charles; and it has been a delight of no ordinary kind for both of
the sick parents to hear on all hands the highly-favourable judgments of God's people as to the present
usefulness, and ultimate eminence, of their sons. Godly parents should be encouraged by our
experience to pray for and expect the salvation of their offspring.— C. H. S., in "Notes" in " The S-toord
and the Trowel" before leaving for the furlough described in this chapter.
Let me describe certain Baptists in this hotel, (i) A father and son;— the father, rather lame;
the son, very attentive to the father; in fact, a model; father improving as to health, but nothing to
boast of. [These were, of course, the dear writer himself and "Son Tom." — S. S.] (2) An old man-
servant with a grey beard, — an odd customer,
commonly called "Old George." (3) Mrs. Godwin,
^(^^ fe^/'-i; —^''^ \ ' _■ '"-'^ i'' daughter of Dr. Acworth, of Kawdon, and wife to
'""" -^5 .'"i'-^r.^i'i* '' ' the son of Dr. Godwin, of the same place. With
her are two daughters, once pupils of Miss Drans-
field, excellent ladies. (4) An old round-faced
Dutchman, a Mennonite, with his daughter,
another Mennonite ;— haters of baby-baptism, and
very glad to see Mynheer Spuurjeoon !— C. H. S.,
in letter written home during the furlough.
OTHER WORSE, RETURN, was the sad,
brief message that hurried me home from
AustraHa in 187S. How joyful was the
discovery, on arriving at Plymouth, that the
crisis of her illness was past ! But, alas !
ARBOUR IN DR. BENNET'S GARDEN, MENTONE. ^|^g | ^g^j. f^^J^gj. ^qqj^ fgU gi^J- . ^^^ ^^\-^^^
■'vith helping- to nurse him at home, and attempting to take his place at the
A 4
2 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Tabernacle, it really looked as if it was on his account, rather than on mother's,
that Providence had led me back. This surmise was further strengthened when,
much to my surprise, it was proposed that I should accompany the convalescent
to Mentone.
It might be thought that I should have jumped at such a privilege ; but, if the
truth is told, I must admit that I was by no means keen on going. Perhaps I was a
little weary of travelling ; may be, I wanted to get at some permanent employment ;
perchance, I was loth to leave my mother, still so sorely sick. I fancy, too, that I
had pardonable fears that I could not provide for my father such companionship as
he deserved and desired. I had yet to learn how easy it was to please him. As it
happened, I had not been a week with him ere I could write, " What a good father
he is, to be sure ! I loved him much although away from him, and now my affection
will increase by being with him." So, indeed, it did. Three months at Mentone,
under the varying experiences of earnest work and happy recreation, of growing
health and sad relapse, of fair and stormy weather, gave me an insight into his
character such as I could not have gained in any other way. Many a time, since
then, have the memories of that sojourn in the sunny South, with the dear man of
God, been an inspiration to me.
I am not sure that, after the lapse of twenty years, I could have ventured to
recite the story of that memorable visit, had not the letters that I wrote home been
fortunately preserved. Dear mother has treasured them all these years, and they
have greatly refreshed my memory. I only wish I had written more than these thirty
missives ; and that, in them, I had spoken more in detail of the sayings and doings
of my beloved parent during those glad and golden days. Perhaps, the better way
is to rejoice that I wrote so much. We were supposed to take it in turn to
correspond with home. Father called my part of the work my book, and gave me
" full permission to write fifty thousand sheets." How little either of us dreamed
what a purpose these notes would eventually serve !
Of our journey to the land of sunshine, little need be said. The dear invalid
began to improve directly we started. He seemed better at Folkestone, and better
still at Paris, Even the long night-journey to Marseilles did not unduly tire him.
Ere we left the gay capital, " we had knelt in prayer, asking for peace and pleasure
on our way ; and, at the very start, we had an answer in the shape of a pleasing
interview with a converted Jew who was acting as Cook's agent. He spoke very
earnesdy about the blessed Book, and his dear Saviour Jesus Christ. On the
journey, father amused us for some time with arithmetical puzzles, in which, of
course, he had the best of it." The night was bitterly cold, — our breath froze on the
carriage windows, — yet the sick preacher took no harm. " Our prayers were
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 3
answered most g-raciously ; we had journeying mercies rich and rare." I should have
said that our party consisted of father and son, IMr. Joseph Passmore, — that kindest
and most genial of travelling companions, — and "Old George," or, as I find I used
to style him, " Father Christmas."
A brief halt at Marseilles was helpful, but the rest of ihe journey proved slow
and wearisome. How shall I speak of the joy with which the Pastor hailed his
chosen resting-place ? What though the weather was so unfavourable, for a while,,
that he had constantly to say, "This is not Mentone," the very sight of the hills, and
the olives, and the sea, revived his spirit. He knew that, when the sun did shine on
them, they would be surpassingly lovely. The closing days of January were " as
fine as fine could be," so, though the limbs were not yet strong, it was possible to get
to Dr. Bennet's garden, or to watch the fishermen draw in their seine, and even to
DRAWING IN THE NET AT MENTONE.
saunter up one or other of the charming valleys. But progress was all too slow, and
an alarming relapse supervened. It was a black Thursday when I had to send word
home, " Dear father's right foot is wrong, and he is fearful that it will get worse."
On the first of March, the most that could be said was, " Where the path was pretty
level, he managed well enough alone, but every now and then he had to lean upon
my shoulder." There was gladder tidings a week later, "All is full of mercy with us.
Dear father still continues to improve, though his knees are certainly not hurrying to
fulness of strength." However, he gradually rallied. Great was my grief that the
closing week was stormy and dismal. I had so hoped that he could be in the healing
sunshine "just to receive the finishing touches." On the fourth of April, I had the
joy of recording, " Father pronounces himself better than ever this morning." That
was the last bulletin.
4 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRArHY.
I was particularly struck with the welcome accorded by all to the great preacher.
It was hardly the sort of welcome usual in such cases. There was no undue
familiarity in it, but it was hearty, spontaneous, and, I might even say, affectionate.
Everybody was delighted to see him. The foreigners, who called him " Meester
Sparegen," vied with Englishmen in assuring him of their joy at his return. He had
a genial smile and a cheery word for all. The Hotel de la Paix was still more
peaceful when he became its guest. Old acquaintances, and ministers of the gospel,
had a specially hearty reception from him. Even the clergyman, who claimed to be
" a friend of more than twenty years' standing, because," said he, " I have been
cribbing from you all that time," was favoured with quite a large slice of attention.
Most to his mind, however, were the King's three mighty men, George Miiller, John
Bost, and Hudson Taylor. In the company of these kindred spirits, he literally
revelled. Was I not honoured to be an onlooker ?
Family worship was a delightful item of each day's doings. It was, of course,
usually conducted by C. H. S., but he sometimes asked others to take part. His
unstudied comments, and his marvellous prayers, were an inspiration indeed. I did
not wonder that requests were received for a share in this privilege. I find, in my
journal, the following interesting enury for March 3 : — "We had two fresh arrivals to
morning prayers. Strangers to father, they had requested, through the waiter,
admission to our worship, so a stately mother and a tall daughter from Belgrave
Square were made right welcome."
It was often directly after breakfast that the work had to be seen to ; for it must
be known that C. H. Spurgeon's holidays were by no means altogether devoted to
so-called pleasure-taking. He lound his truest delight in active service. Sometimes,
if the truth must be told, it appeared to all of us that he rested insufficiently. There
were those ceaseless letters ; — how they worried me, for he would answer them
himself, when I wanted him to be by the sea, or under the olives ! How he loved
the olive trees, chiefly because they told him of his Lord and of Gethsemane !
I confess that I begrudged him the time he spent in corresponding with all save
dear mother and the Tabernacle Church. This is how I wrote at the time
concerning- this matter: — "As to his other letters, I wish folk would not bother
him with nonsensical epistles, I must admit that it does not seem any great
labour to him to answer them ; still, the time would be far better spent in the
sunshine ; but what can't be cured must be endured." I think I understand
better, by this time, why he answered almost everyone. He knew so well the
power of letter-writing. He knew also how glad the recipients would be, and
what life-long friends he would secure. Quite recently, a venerable saint, in his
eighty-ninth year, sent me, "just to look at," a letter he had received from dear father
C. H. SrURGEON'S AUTOBIOGRAniY.
at Mentone. It was in answer to a message of gratitude for a sermon in The
Christian Herald, and ran like this : —
" My Dear Brother,
" I thank you for your word of good cheer. It is a great joy to be the
means of comfort to an aged beHever. You will very likely get home before I shall,
but tell them I am coming as fast as the gout will let me. The Lord will not leave
you now that hoary hairs have come, but will now carry you in His bosom. Peace
be unto you !
" Yours heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Who can tell the joy that brief, bright, brotherly note brought the octogenarian, who,
after all, was not the first to " eet home " ?
AN ANCIENT OLIVE TREE, MENTONE.
But there was other work to be done. The weekly sermon had to be revised,
and the magazine edited. Here is a striking holiday item : — " He is very busy with
the magazine, and fears he cannot write to you to-day." Moreover, there was
generally some book on the stocks, and since he who would write books must read
them, — a maxim which obtained even with so original a thinker as he was, — it is
6 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY,
written in my diary : — "We have beguiled many of our hours by reading, and father
has been culHng flowers of thought to be arranged in fragrant nosegays by-and-by."
The only mishap on our journey to Mentone was the temporary loss of a bag full of
books ; but a more serious loss than that seemed scarcely possible to the author and
devourer of books. He was as a workman bereft of his tools. He was in terrible
distress, and refused to be comforted till the satchel was forthcoming. " Great was
the Pastor's joy on finding his peculiar treasure."
With very special delight I recall the fact that I, too, was set to work, and that
I had the President of the Pastors' College as my private tutor. Let me give a few
quotations which will sufficiently indicate the curriculum of the Mentone branch of
that Institution : — " I read Chapter 1. of a French history from which father
questioned me afterwards, I then stuck to Hodge till dinner-time, and by to-morrow
I hope to get into real working order. It is very good of dear father to interest
him.self so in my welfare. I shall do my very best to prevent him ever regretting it."
" Father and son worked at history and Hodge. The driest matter btcrsts into a
blaze zvheji C. H. S. puts some of his fire to it." " Father is now on a sofa, at an
open window, inspecting a primer of political economy, prior to my study of it. I
wonder if this College course 'extraordinary will admit me to the Conference ; I
greatly hope so." " I have just completed an examination in history, and am, as
usual, top of the class. A still more interesting way of studying French history was
introduced yesterday. Father borrowed Carlyle's French Revolution, and read
it to us!" There follows a hint that Mr. Passmore seemed to appreciate this
method of instruction (even) more than Hodge. But, oh, it was glorious to hear
C. H. Spurgeon read Carlyle !
Every day, when the weather favoured, and health permitted, we had an outing
of some sort. It often consisted only of a drive up one of the valleys, and a stroll
back ; but we generally took our lunch, and " Old George " was sorely tried because
there was no spot sufficiently level for his cloth, and no centre-piece more elegant
than an orange ; but these were trifies which oui" sharpened appetites scorned.
How the dear Pastor gloried in the freedom of these rambles ! The spring flowers
and the trap-door spiders, no less than the towering hills and dashing rills, filled his
soul with prayer, and praise, and poetry. The prayer and praise constantly found
expression, and once at least the poetry overflowed. " We lunched beneath the fir
trees. Meanwhile, the birds were singing to us. No wonder, then, that the poetic
fire burst forth, and C. H. S. gave vent to his delight in extempore rhyme. It
should be perhaps explained that we had been reading Cowper together before the
meal."
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
GORBIO, NEAR JIEKTONE.
Five times we went up the Gorbio valley, and declared that "fifty times would
CASTLE AND FOUNTAIN AT ROQUEBRUNE, NEAR MENTONE.
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
hardly tire us of the lovely place." Longer, but scarcely more enjoyable expeditions
were made to Bordighera, — " the place where the sun seems always shining ; " — to
Nice, and ^lonaco, and Roquebrune, and Ventimiglia, and Dolce Acqua.
pyngDt, 1S&4, by Harper & Brothert.
DOLCE ACQUA, ITALY.
Cap Martin was a favourite spot. As soon as the weather cleared, the cheery
voice rang out, "Son Tom, I propose a drive to Cap Martin." I thereupon heartily
seconded the resolution, and the friends (for others had joined us by this time,)
carried it unanimously. After a breezy drive, " we clambered over the rocks, and
watched the pale green coursers foam toward the shore, and dash themselves in
spray about us. We were a jolly party altogether, and who will say that dear father
was not the jolliest of all 1 "
Sometimes, quite an excursion party was organized, "personally conducted" by
C. H. S. Thus we read, in the chronicles of our visit: — "We had a splendid trip,
the day before yesterday, to Ventimiglia, — a whole party of us, in two carriages.
C. H. SPURGEON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Father was guide, of course, and interested us greatly with his graphic descriptions
of the amphitheatre and the cathedral. You know how much more one can learn
when he is at hand to pc'nt it out."
PALAZZO ORENGO, LA MORTOLA, ITALY.
I am tempted to quote largely from the report of a visit to the charming-
residence of Mr. Thomas Hanbury. As it was fully enjoyed by him whose time of
rest I am endeavouring to picture, I cannot pass it by in silence. " March 23, '79. —
The morning was wet and cold ; but, suddenly, the wind changed, and the sun tried
to struggle through the clouds. We were wondering if we might hope for a drive in
the afternoon, when Mr. H anbury's carriage was announced to be in waiting to
convey us to the Palazzo Orengo. Mr. H. had noticed the change before we did,
and was more confident of favourable weather ; so he kindly sent for us, with a
lO
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
promise to return us when we wished. The prospect of a charming ride, and a
lovely stroll in an earthly paradise, (to say nothing of a rechercM lunch,) was eagerly
jumped at.
" From the magnificent gateway on the high road, we walked by an easy
decline toward the mansion. At every turn, — nay, at every step, — there was some-
thing to admire and marvel at. The walks are spread with tiny blue beach stones.
ENTRANCE TO MR. HANBURY S GARDEN, LA iMORTOLA.
SO that, though the plants and shrubs were overflowing with crystal tOKCns of the
recent rain, we went over the garden dryshod. Mr. H. was our guide, and
descanted concerning aloes, and agaves, and eucalypti, and the rare and curious
plants which he had gathered from every quarter. I saw quite a number ot my
Australian friends, — she-oak, wattle, gum, etc." I well remember that dear father
was specially delighted with the wonderful show of anemones. Thousands of these
bright flowers, of every hue, s.prang from the fresh green grass, — a fallen rainbow,
surely ! An aloe, too, pleased him greatly. Much to its owner's regret, it was
C. H. SPURGEON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
I I
beginning to flower. It was the finest in the garden, and Mr. H. knew only too well
that its effort still further to beautify itself must end in death.
But Dr. Bennet's garden was our chief resort, — "a veritable paradise on the
side of a rocky steep." How many times it was visited, I cannot tell. It was near
at hand, and no special invitation was necessary. Father loved to look on the town
from this view-point, and desired me to sketch the scene.* It was not the first
time mv pencil had been at his service ; and great was my joy to transfer to my
sketch-book the scenes which particularly interested him, such as some queer
specimens of architecture in the old town, the tunnel-pierced cliff with the Italian
MENTONE ARCHITECTURE.
* This view is not reproduced here, as an illustration of " Mentone, as seen from Dr. Bennet's garden," was given in
Vol. ni., but the other scenes mentioned by Pastor Thomas Spurgeon have been prepared from his sketches, together with
the illustration at the beginning of the chapter.
12
C. H. SPURGEON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
"SsS^^a^M^^^sfiiK-
THE TUNNEL THROUGH THE RED ROCKS, MENTONE.
guard-house on its brow, the ruined castle and running fountain at Roquebrune
(see page 7), or a specially gnarled and twisted olive tree (see page 5). Never had
aspiring artist a more indulgent patron.
After dinner, there was generally an adjournment to the smoking-room, where
father chatted freely with the other visitors at the hotel, who were by no means loth
to exchange sentiments with the distinguished preacher. And he could discourse on
almost any theme. How pleased he was to meet an aged Mennonite Baptist there !
An Alsatian baron, who had translated some of the sermons, and had come all the
way from Cannes to see him, was received, one evening, with due ceremony, in his
private sitting-room.
Will anyone be surprised to hear that, on one occasion, Mr. Sp'urgeon witnessed
a conjuring performance ? "We were entertained at a ' brillante stance de viagie'
given by ' Le Professeur PTCstidigitateur, B. Marchelli.' The performance was very
good for that of a strolling conjuror. Dear father seemed to enjoy it mightily,
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
13
especially when the Professor produced a turtle-dove from ' Old George's ' pocket in
first-rate style." Almost every evening-, we had some reading of a light description, —
The Ingoldsby Legends being a favourite work. It was my privilege, also, to add to
the paternal merriment by reading certain humorous sketches of my Australian
experiences, sometimes amid a shower of newspapers and other missiles.
We enjoyed our Sundays thoroughly. The Presbyterian Church was not then
built, so we worshipped in a room of Mrs. Dudgeon's villa. Dr. Hanna and others
preached, and our Pastor was often an interested listener. He always had unstinted
praise for a sermon which exalted Jesus, and proclaimed His dyino- love. "That
was a very sweet sermon," he used to say when such a discourse had been delivered.
How delighted he was to hear George Muller on " Patient waiting upon God."
Especially did he rejoice in the man behind the message. The preacher came to
our communion service, and closed it with prayer. I remember that, after asking
great things for my beloved parents, he prayed very earnestly for "the dear son in
Australia." I had great pleasure in informing him that I was the son in Australia ;
and oh ! how warmly did he grasp my hand, — the dear old man ! Little did we
dream then that, nine years after, he would help to marry me in New Zealand.
Perhaps I may venture to add, concerning our Sundays, that it was my joyful
privilege to conduct several services. On one occasion, the Pastor of the Metro-
politan Tabernacle occupied a seat under the verandah. I told him, afterwards, how
fortunate it was that I did not happen to address "outsiders." I cannot forget the
loving encouragement he gave me. Not less did I prize the lenient criticisms and
valuable hints as to style and delivery. I may be pardoned, too, for treasuring the
memory of how, during this happy holiday, he conceived the idea of having me ever
with him, and of instituting a Sunday afternoon service that I might conduct. But
the Master willed it otherwise.
We had a whole day with George Muller in Dr. Bennet's garden, and I am able
to copy from my letter of the following date this striking testimony as to the
advantage of such fellowship : — " Dear father declares himself far better able to
'trust and not be afraid' through intercourse with Mr. Muller." The stimulus to
faith was greatly needed then. How well God times His aid ! In the same epistle,
after recording our sorrow at mother's continued illness, these words occur : —
"Another source of anxiety is the lack of funds for the Colportage Association.
This matter also we have believingly commended to the God of all grace, who will
surely not let His servants want. Dear father has been in many straits before, and
has always been delivered. In this trouble also the Lord will befriend him, — for
what is ^700 to Him '^. "
14 C. H. SPURGEONS AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
For Pastor John Bost, director of the Asylums of La Force, C. H. Spurgeon
consented to preside at a pubHc meeting. Besides being deeply interested in his
work among the epileptics, father was greatly taken with the man himself. The
Encrlishman and the Frenchman had somethino' in common, for Pastor Bost was
brimful of humour, and withal somewhat stout. He himself said, " Mr. Mliller is a
great man, John Bost is a big man." The meeting was a grand success. " Both
speakers mingled plenty of fun with their addresses ; and I, for one, was laughing
and crying alternately all the time. ' The dear epileptics ' were most effectively
pleaded for."
This sketch of C. H. Spurgeon at Mentone would hardly be complete if it did
not tell how amused he was by the Carnival procession. I call to mind how
interested he was in the various devices, and how heartily he laughed at the
grotesque ones. He was specially pleased with a company mounted upon donkeys,
and representing candlesticks. The men's bodies were the candles, their heads the
flames, and on their spears they held extinguishers. I almost wond«er that the group
did not figure afterwards in Sej^)Hons in Candles.
As soon as a measure of health returned, the eager worker looked longingly
towards home. His head nurse declared that he was not fit to go back, but the
patient was impatient to be in harness again. Here is the official bulletin for
March 17 : — " He seems, to my mind, hardly strong enough to undertake the
thousand duties of his gigantic work ; but he will not hear of staying longer, and has
already engaged a sleeping-car." Urgent representations from the Tabernacle, that
he should remain away till thoroughly restored, came to hand ; but an extra week
was all that the combined efforts could secure. He was as a greyhound in the leash
till he was back at his post.
And what a home-coming it was ! Nightingale Lane then heard sweeter music
than ever Philomel produced, — the music of loving welcome to dear ones mingled
with fervent gratitude to God. And when the blessed ministry at the Tabernacle
was resumed, there rose to Heaven a doxology, loud as the voice of many waters,
from a church and congregation that loved their Pastor almost as well as he loved
them.
What a welcome he must have had, thirteen years later, when from the same
sunny land he went home to God 1
CHAPTER LXXXIV.
a JBoubU Silbcr Simtbbtnni.
It was right and seemly that, at the close of this period of twenty-five years, some testimonial
should be offered to the Pastor. The like has been worthily done in other instances ; and brethren have
accepted a sum of money, which they well deserved, ard which theyhave very properly laid aside as a
provision for their families. In our case, it did not appear to us at all fitting that the offering should
come into our own purse ; our conscience and heart revolted from the idea. We could, without sin, have
accepted the gift for our own need ; but it seemed not to be right. We have been so much more in the
hands of God than most, — so much less an agent, and so much more an instrument, that we could not
claim a grain of credit. Moreover, the dear and honoured brethren and sisters in Christ, who have
surrounded us these many years, have really themselves done the bulk of the work ; and God forbid that
we should monopolize honour which belongs to all the saints ! Let the offering come, by all means ; but
let it return to the source from whence it came. There are many poor in the church, — far more than
friends at a distance would imagine ; — many of the most godly poor, " widows indeed," and partakers of
the poverty of Christ. To aid the church in its holy duty of remembering the poor, which is the nearest
approach to remembering Christ Himself, seemed to us to be the highest use of money. The testimonial
will, therefore, go to support the aged sisters in the Almshouses, and thus it will actually relieve the
funds of the church which are appropriated to the weekly relief of the necessitous. May the Lord
Jesus accept this cup of cold water, which is offered in His Name ! We see the Lord's servants fetching
for us water from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate ; and as we behold tliem cheerfully and
generously setting it at our feet, we thank them, — thank them with tears in our eyes, — but we feel that
we must not drink thereof; it must be poured out before the Lord. So let it be. O Lord, accept it!
— C. H. S., in ^'■The Sword and the T}Owcl," January, 1S79.
FTER the furlough described in the previous chapter, the first great
historical event was the celebration of Mr. Spurgeon's pastoral
silver wedding, — the commemoration of the completion of the
twenty-fifth year of his ministry in London. It was felt, by many
of his friends, that so notable a period of Christian service should
not be allowed to pass without due recognition, and many of them
desired to avail themselves of the opportunity to present to their Pastor a testimonial
of their loving esteem. As soon as the matter was mentioned to him, he resolutely
refused to receive any personal presentation ; but, feeling that the church's gratitude
to God for all the blessing vouchsafed during that memorable quarter of a century
ought to find suitable expression, he suggested that efforts should be made to help
the one portion of the work which had been a source of some anxiety to him, and
might be more so in the future.
At the annual church-meeting, in January, 1878, the question assumed definite
shape, as will be seen from Mr. Spurgeon's own account of the proceedings : — "'It
was proposed, and heartily carried by all, that the deacons should consider how best
to celebrate the Pastor's silver wedding when the twenty-fifth year should close, if
God should spare the senior Pastor to that time. Mr. Spurgeon then reminded the
church that its heaviest burden was the Almshouses, which, having been scantily
1 6 C. H, SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
endowed for six aged sisters, now accommodated seventeen, and made a heavy drain
on the communion fund. It appeared, from the balance-sheet, that the alms given
away to the poor annually exceeded ^i,ooo; and, from the great number of the
poor members, it had been needful for the Pastor to find ^120, and for other friends
to o-ive privately in order to balance the account. This was principally due to the
large item for support of almswomen ; and Mr. Spurgeon said that, if friends would
make an effort to raise about ^5,000, this part of the church work would be put
into proper shape, and he should regard it as a fit way of celebrating the anticipated
event. He remarked that it was comparatively easy to carry the load noii), but that
he should not like to leave such a heavy burden for his successor. Should he
himself be suddenly called away, the church might find it no great cause for blessing
Mr. Spurgeon's administration if it found that houses had been built for the aged
widows to starve in, but that their daily bread had been forgotten. He considered
that the good ship was in trim condition from stem to stern with this exception, and
he would like to see the matter done, and done well. From the enthusiasm of the
meetino-, there is little doubt that, by many hands, the needful amount will be
brought in on or before January, 1879."
By that date, far more than the sum mentioned had been received. About half
the amount was realized by a bazaar, for the Pastor had not then seen, as he did in
later years, the evils necessarily associated with that method of raising money for
the Lord's cause. The presentation had to be postponed, for a time, as Mr.
Spuroeon was away at Mentone, seeking rest and restoration ; but, at last.
May 20, 1879, was fixed for the joyous event. It was preceded by special sermons
on the Sabbath, in the course of which the following historical and autobiographical
references were made by the preacher : — ■
" Under the present pastorate, we are like mariners in mid-ocean, distant
twenty-five leagues, or rather years, from the place of our departure, and making all
sail for the further shore. As to any service we may expect personally to render,
we are certainly in the midst of the years, if not near to their end. In the course of
nature, we could not expect that more than another twenty-five years of service
could be compassed by us, nor are we so foolish as to reckon even upon that : we
have, at any rate, come to middle life in our church-relationship, now that we
celebrate our silver wedding. Brethren, there is about ' the midst of the years ' a
certain special danger, and this led the prophet, as it shall lead us at this time, to
pray, in the words which I have selected for my text, ' O Lord, revive Thy work in
the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known.' Youth has its perils,
but these are past ; age has its infirmities, but these we have not yet reached ; it is
ours then to pray against the dangers which are present with us ' in the midst of the
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography. 17
years.' The middle passage of life with us as individuals, and with us as a church,
is crowded with peculiar perils.
"There is a certain spur and stimulus of novelty about religious movements
which in a few years is worn out. I well recollect when we were called ' a nine days'
wonder,' and our critics prophesied that our work would speedily collapse. Such
excitement had been seen before, and had passed away ; and this would be one
among other bubbles of the hour. The nine days have lasted considerably lono- ; —
may nine such days follow them, in God's infinite mercy ! Now, whatever
detractors might say, we know that there was then a life, an energy, a freshness
about everything which was done by us as a church which we could hardly expect
to continue with us for all these years. From an admirable fervour, many cool
down to a dangerous chill. This is to be bemoaned where it has occurred, and it is
to be feared where as yet it has not happened, for such is the natural tendency of
things. Beloved brethren, I have prayed to God that, when what is called the
esp7dt de corps is gone from us, the Esprit de Dieu may still abide with us ; that,
when the spirit which grows out of our association with each other declines, we may
be sustained by the Spirit which unites us all to the Lord Jesus.
" This very house of prayer has been to sdme of you a quiet resting-place.
You have been more at home here than when you have been at home. 1 will
be bound to say that you recollect more happy times that you have had here than
anywhere else, and these have put out of your memory the sad records of your
hard battling in the world, even for a livelihood. I know that many of you live
by your Sabbaths. You step over the intervening space from Lord's-day to Lord's-
day, as if the Lord had made a ladder of Sabbaths for you to climb to Heaven by ;
and you have been fed, as well as rested, in God's house. I know you have, for he
who deals out the meat has had his own portion ; and when he is fed, he knows that
others have like appetites, and need like food, and know when they get it. You
have clapped your hands for very joy when redeeming grace and dying love have
been the theme, and infinite, sovereign, changeless mercy has been the subject of
discourse.
"Well now, by every happy Sabbath you have had, my brethren; by every
holy Monday evening prayer-meeting ; by every occasion on which God has met
with you in any of the rooms of this building, when a few of you, at early mornino-,
or late in the evening, have gathered together for prayer ; by every time in which the
realization of Jesu's love has charmed your soul up to Heaven's gate, bless and
magnify His Name, who has crowned the years with His goodness. There had
been no food for us if the Lord had not given us manna from Heaven. There had
been no comfortable rest for us if He had not breathed peace upon us. There had
been no coming in of new converts, nor going out with rapturous joy of the perfected
B 4
1 8 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
ones up to the seats above, if the Lord had not been with us ; and, therefore, to
Him be all the praise.
" I do not suppose that any strangers here will understand this matter. It may
even be that they will judge that we are indulging in self-gratulation under a thin
disguise ; but this evil we must endure for once. You, my brothers and sisters, who
have been together these many years, comprehend what is meant ; and you know
that it is not within the compass of an angel's tongue to express the gratitude which
many of us feel who, for these five-and-twenty years, have been banded together in
closest and heartiest Christian brotherhood in the service of our Lord and Master.
Strangers cannot guess how happy has been our fellowship, or how true our love.
Eternity alone shall reveal the multitude of mercies with which God has visited us
by means of our association in this church ; it is to some of us friend, nurse, mother,
home, all in one. During all these years, the Lord has been pleased, in infinite
mercy, to prepare men's hearts to listen to the Word. It was not possible, they said,
that great places could be filled with crowds to hear the old-fashioned gospel. The
pulpit had lost its power, — so unbelievers told us ; and yet, no sooner did we begin
to preach in simple strains the gospel of Christ, than the people flew as a cloud, and
as doves to their windows. And what listening there was at New Park Street,
where we scarcely had air enough to breathe ! And when we got into the larger
place, what attention was manifest ! What power seemed to go with every word
that was spoken ; I say it, though I was the preacher ; for it was not I, but the
grace ot God which was with me. There were, stricken down among us, some
of the most unlikely ones. There were brought into the church, and added to God's
people, some of those who had wandered far away from the path of truth and
righteousness ; and these, by their penitent love, quickened our life, and increased
our zeal. The Lord gave the people more and more a willingness to hear, and
there was no pause either in the flowing stream of hearers, or in the incoming of
converts. The Holy Spirit came down like showers which saturate the soil till the
clods are ready for the breaking ; and then it was not long before, on the right and
on the left, we heard the cry, ' What must we do to be saved ? ' We were busy
enough, in those days, in seeing converts ; and, thank God, we have been so ever
since. We had some among us who gave themselves up to watch for the souls of
men, and we have a goodly number of such helpers now, perhaps more than ever we
had ; and, thank God, these found and still find many souls to watch over. Still the
arrows fly, and still the smitten cry out for help, and ask that they may be guided to
the great healing Lord. Blessed be God's Name for this ! He went with us all
those early days, and gave us sheaves even at the first sowing, so that we began
with mercy ; and He has been with us even until now, till our life has become one
long harvest-home.
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY, 19
" I am bound to acknowledge, with deep thankfulness, that, during these
twenty-five years, the Word has been given me to speak when the time has come
for preaching. It may look to you a small thing that I should be able to come
before you in due time ; but it will not seem so to my brethren in the ministry who
recollect that, for twenty-five years, my sermons have been printed as they have
been delivered. It must be an easy thing to go and buy discourses at si.xpence or a
shilling each, ready lithographed, and read them off, as hirelings do ; but to speak
your heart out every time, and yet to have something tresh to say for twenty-five
years, is no child's play. Who shall do it unless he cries unto God for help ? I
read, but the other day, a newspaper criticism upon myself, in which the writer
expressed his wonder that a man should keep on year after year with so few themes,
and such a narrow groove to travel in ; but, my brethren, it is not so, our themes are
infinite for number and fulness. Every text of Scripture is boundless in its meaning ;
we could preach from the Bible throughout eternity, and not exhaust it. The groove
narrow ? The thoughts of God narrow ? The Word of the Lord narrow ? They
who say so do not know it, for His commandment is exceeding broad. Had we to
speak of politics or philosophy, we should have run dry long ago ; but when we
have to preach the Saviour's everlasting love, the theme is always fresh, always new.
The incarnate God, the atoning blood, the risen Lord, the coming glory, these are
subjects which defy exhaustion. W^hen I recollect how, as a boy, I stood among
you, and feebly began to preach Jesus Christ, and how these twenty-five years,
without dissension, ay, without the dream of dissension, in perfect love compacted
as one man, you have gone on from one work of God to another, and have never
halted, hesitated, or drawn back, I must and will bless and magnify Him who hath
crowned these years with His goodness.
" Now I come to my closing point. It is this, — the crowning blessing is
confessed to be of God. Some churches have one crown, and some another ; our
crown, under God, has been this, — the poor have the gospel preached unto them,
souls are saved, and Christ is glorified. O my beloved church, hold fast that thou
hast, that no man take this crown away from thee ! As for me, by God's help, the
first and last thing that I long for is to bring men to Christ. I care nothing about
fine language, or about the pretty speculations of prophecy, or a hundred dainty
things ; but to break the heart and bind it up, to lay hold on a sheep of Christ and
bring it back into the fold, is the one thing I would live for. You also are of the
same mind, are you not ? Well, we have had this crowning blessing that, as nearly
as I can estimate, since I came amongst you, more than nine thousand persons have
joined this church. If they were all alive now, or all with us now, what a
company they would be ! I find that, during these twenty-five years, there have
gone from us, to the upper realms, about eight hundred who had named the Name
20 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
of Jesus. Professing their faith in Christ, Hving in His fear, dying in the faith, they
gave us no cause to doubt their sincerity ; and, therefore, we may not question their
eternal safety. Many of them gave us, in Hfe and in death, all the tokens we could
ask for of their being in Christ ; and, therefore, we sorrow not as those that are
without hope. Why, when I think of them, — many of them my sons and dauo-hters
in the faith, — now before the throne, they fill me with solemn exultation ! Do you
not see them in their white robes .-^ Eight hundred souls redeemed by blood!
These are only those whom we knew of, and had enrolled on our church-books.
How many more there may have been converted, who never joined our earthly
fellowship, but, nevertheless, have gone home, I cannot tell. There probably have
been more than those whose names we know, if we consider the wide area over
which the printed sermons circulate. They are gathering home one by one, but
they make a goodly company. Our name is Gad, for *a troop cometh.' Happy
shall we be to overtake those who have outmarched us, and entered into the
Promised Land before us. Let us remember them, and by faith join our hands with
theirs. Flash a thought to unite the broken family, for we are not far from them,
nor are they far from us, since we are one in Christ."
Monday evening. May 19, was mainly devoted to praising the Lord for His
goodness to both Pastor and people during the whole period of their union ; but,
before the meeting closed, Mr. Spurgeon gave an address, as he felt that there
would not be time, the following evening, for him to say all that he wanted. Among
other things, he said : — " I have, as you must imagine, felt the deepest emotion, at
the end of these twenty-five years of your affectionate co-operation ; and especially
an emotion, which I shall not attempt to express, of grateful affection to you all for
the noble testimonial which you have raised to commemorate the event. I felt sure
that you would take up the plan of providing for our aged sisters as soon as it
was proposed to you by the deacons ; but I did not think that you could give
me such a testimonial as you have prepared. The net sum which is to be
handed to me is, I am informed, ^6,238, (afterwards increased to ^6,476 9s.,) the
spontaneous giving — the universal giving — the delighted giving of the entire church
and congregation. Everyone has seemed jealous of being excluded ; so all, both
rich and poor, young and old, have pressed forward with their gifts. I certainly
could not have imagined that you would so largely exceed the amount needed for
the Almshouses ; and yet, when I remember your many other loving and generous
acts, I cannot be surprised at anything. It is just like you ; your conduct to me is
all of a piece, and may God bless you for it ! I was ill all the while you were doing
this great deed of love, and I could not rise from my bed ; but, each day, I had
tidings of some sort about you, and your words and acts of love ; and I hardly knew
C. H. SPURGEONS AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 2 1
how to bear. it. It lifted me out of despondency, but it cast me down with exceeding
gratitude. I scarcely like to speak upon the subject, because it has been a rule with
me not to take a text which I could not hope to grasp. Little boats are safest while
they keep in sight of shore. This subject is one of those upon which the more said
the better, and yet it remains better than all that can be said. I condense my
sermon into a sentence, and that sentence is a prayer, — May the God, whom I serve,
bless you all a thousandfold for this token of your love and kindness towards me,
which I know you have rendered for Christ's sake ! "
On Tuesday evening. May 20, the Tabernacle was crowded in every part for
the meeting at which the testimonial was to be presented. After prayer and praise,
Mr. B. VV. Carr read along but interesting historical paper, entitled, "A Grateful
Retrospect," summarizing the church's progress during Mr. Spurgeon's ministry ;
Dr. Charles Stanford followed with a choice composition upon " The Baptist
Churches, twenty-five years ago and now ; " a few brief addresses were delivered ;
and then, as a pleasant interlude before the presentation was made by Mr. W'illiam
Olney, the Pastor said : — " Before we go to the business of the evening, we will
sing our Tabernacle National Anthem, that glorious hymn, —
"'Grace, 'tis a charming sound,' —
to the tune ' Cranbrook ', which a critic has called 'execrable.' I am such a heretic
as to like ' Cranbrook ' ; and if you will only sing it as we generally do, we will
make some of these heathen here to-night like it. The way of singing now (con-
tinued Mr. Spurgeon, in affected tones to imitate the parties to whom he alluded)
is, ' Let us sing to the praise and glory of God, and rattle through it as fast as
possible, with, never a fugue or a repeat, and get it over and done, for we are
sick to death of it.' In truth, I think some of the much-admired modern tunes
might be very well represented under the following story : — ' I hope you enjoyed
our music this morning,' said a gentleman of the High Church to a Presbyterian
hiend who was staying with him. 'Well, I cannot say that I admire your form
of service at all ; I like things much better as we have them in the old kirk.'
' No .'* But you are, after all, a gentleman of musical taste ; did you not very
much enjoy that introit?' 'I really don't know which it was.' 'But you must
have been pleased with that anthem,' repeated the High Churchman. ' I don't
know, I can't say much in its favour,' was the reply. 'Well, there was one very
remarkable tune; didn't you notice it?' 'Oh!' was the response, 'I didn't think
much of it.' 'Well, now, I am very sorry, because that is a very ancient tune,
used by the early Church very often ; indeed, I believe it was sung in the
catacombs. I have even heard that this wonderful piece of music came from
the Jews, and was no doubt chanted in the liturgical service of the Temple ; for
22 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
vou know the worship of the ancient Temple was Hturgical, and not your bare
Presbyterian form at all. There appears to be scarcely any doubt that the tune
we had this morning was originally sung by David himself when he played on
his harp.' ' Dear me,' said the Presbyterian, ' I never heard that before, but it
throws great light upon Scripture. I never could make out why Saul threw a
ja\-elin at David ; but if that was the tune which he sang when he played his
harp before the king, I can understand Saul's ferocity, and justify it, too.'
' Cranbrook ' is not the tune that was sung by David, but it is a good deal
better than anything David ever sang ; the tune is more musical, and the hymn
has more gospel in it than was known under the law."
" Grace, 'tis a charming sound,"
was then sung, to the tune "Cranbrook", as only a Tabernacle audience of six
thousand people could sing it. Then followed the presentation of the testimonial.
The principal portions ot Mr. Olney's address, and of Mr. Spurgeon's reply,
were published in Vol. II., Chapter XLIV., and therefore need not be repeated
here ; but the record of that memorable meeting may be closed with the Pastor's
allusions to his people's affection and his own resolve : — " I can only use over
again the simile I have employed before. In the crystallizing of sugar, to make
sugar candy, strings are stretched across the vessel in which the syrup is boiled ;
upon these strings, the sugar crystallizes. You are the sugar ; the Divine life
supplies the fire which melts your hearts ; and I am the thread around which
you crystallize. So be it still ! But your love is to me an amazement ; I am
the most astonished person among you ; I do not comprehend it ; it seems a
romance to me. What I have done, I shall do still ; namely, love you with all
my heart, and love my Lord as His grace enables me. I mean to go on preaching-
Jesus, and His gospel ; and you may be sure that I shall not preach anything
else, for with me it is Christ or nothing. I am sold up, and my stock-in-trade
is gone if Jesus Christ is gone. He is the sum of my ministry, my All-in-all."
A pleasing sequel to the presentation was thus noted at the time by Mr.
Spurgeon : — " The testimonial which celebrated our twenty-five years of pastoral
work was presented on Tuesday, May 20, and there and then dedicated to the Lord.
On the following Thursday evening, we commenced a new period in our church
history ; and it is a singularly pleasing coincidence that, at the church-meeting held
on that evening, no less than thirty-seven candidates came before the church, and
confessed their faith in Christ, — the largest number that we have ever received at
one church-meeting. This was the more remarkable as it happened entirely without
arrangement on the part of the Pastor or anyone else. We regard it as 'a token for
good,' and look for 'greater things than these.' "
C. H, SPURGEON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHYo
23
SILVER WEDDING PORTRAITS.
Only a brief mention of our personal silver wedding- is necessary. There
was some intention of holding- a special meeting- at the Tabernacle, to congratulate
the Pastor and his wife, on Monday, January 10, iSSi, — two days after the actual
date ; but, unhappily, Mr. Spurgeon was laid aside at the time, so that idea
had to be abandoned, although we were both very sympathetically remembered
in the supplications of those who were assembled, that evening, in the much-
loved house of prayer. Ultimately, the commemoration took the form of a
private gathering" of friends, at "Westwood," on Wednesday, February 2. It was
characteristic of my beloved's devotion to his Lord's service, and of the intimate
union existing between himself and his church-officers, that such an event in our
family history should have been celebrated in connection with a meeting- oi' the
deacons at our home. I might not have remembered that circumstance had I not
24 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
been favoured with the loan of one of the invitations issued by the dear Pastor,
a facsimile of which is here reproduced. I am not aware that he ever signed
another letter with our united initials, and the date on which this one was written
gives it now a specially tender interest. I have no very vivid recollections gf the
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography. . 25
evening's proceedings ; but I know that Mr. William Olney and Mr. Carr, as the
spokesmen on behalf of their brother-deacons, made most sympathetic references to
both the parents and their twin-sons, and that, after the interchange of many cheering
reminiscences, and a time of holy fellowship, the whole household joined us for
family worship, which was conducted by Mr. Spurgeon with his usual fervour and
Impressiveness.
Among my dear husband's papers, I find a letter, relating to this happy season,
from his old Cambridge friend, Mr. J. S. Watts, of whom frequent mention was made
in Vol. I. of the Autobiography. This epistle so sweetly links the beginning of our
wedded life with the twenty-filth anniversary of our marriage, that it appears to me
to deserve a place in this chapter.
" Regent Street,
"Cambridge,
" January 8, iSSi.
" My Dear Friend,
" My mind reverts to the month of January, twenty-five years ago, when
a certain newly-married juvenile Pastor and his wiie came to me for a tew days, and
solaced themselves in their mutual love for each other at my house.
" Many things have happened since that time ; but their faithfulness and their
affection for each other have not been impaired ; and now that they are about to
celebrate their silver wedding, I ask permission to remind them of those early days,
and to add my hearty congratulations at this auspicious period,
" May the 8th of January, 1881, ring in a strain of joyful music over the strings
of the past, assuring them that 'golden days' are yet to come, even before they
'walk the golden streets.' So prays, —
"Their old friend and well-wisher,
"J. S. Watts."
Another loving letter, written at that period by Dr. W. Morley Punshon, is also
worthy of preservation here : —
" Tranby,
" Bri.xton Rise, S.W.,
"Jan., iSSi.
" My Dear Sir and Brother,
" The papers tell us that the 8th inst. will be a memorable day to you ;
and, amid hosts of greeting friends, my wife and I (than whom you have none truer,
thouoh our love can rarely exhibit itself but in wishful thought and prayer,) would
fain express our good wishes in a line.
26 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
" We trust there is good foundation for the rumour, which has lately reached
us, of great and permanent improvement in Mrs. Spurgeon's health ; and we pray
that, it it be the Lord's will, you may be continued to each other in happy fellowship
until the ' silvern ' shall have become ' golden ' by the lapse of years.
"Like most of God's anointed, it seems as if you are to be 'made meet by
consecrated pain.' May the Refiner sit always by the furnace ! You knozv that the
fire will never be kindled a whit too fiercely, nor burn a moment too long.
"There are many, whom you know not, who thank God, in these times of
rebuke, for your fidelity to the old gospel, and who watch you with solicitude
and prayer.
"Wishing, for Mrs. Spurgeon and yourself, happiness, and the blessedness
which is better, — the Lord's unutterable peace,' long and useful lives, and the
' abundant entrance ' at last, 1 am, in my wife's name and my own,
"Yours very aftectionately,
"W. MORLEY PUNSHON."
" Rev. Chas. H. Spurgeon."
Three months later, when Dr. Punshon was "called home," Mr. Spurgeon
gratefully referred to this letter, and sought to comfort the bereaved family in
their season of sorrow.
CHAPTER LXXXV.
<Knqutitrs mxti Conbn;ts.
There are gentlemen, in England, who can afford to drive a coach and four from town to town
and carry nobody, performing their journeys for their own amusement ; but I am not able or willing to
do anything of that kind. Unless I can have my coach loaded with passengers to Heaven, I would
sooner it was never started, and had rather that my team stopped in the stable. We must carry some
souls to Heaven, for our call is from above and our time is too precious to throw away on mere pretence
of doing good. We cannot play at preaching ; we preach for eternity. We cannot feel satisfied merely
to deliver sermons to senseless throngs, or to the most attentive crowds. Whatever smiles may greet
us as we start, and whatever salutation may welcome us at our close, we are not content unless Jesus
works salvation by us. Our desire is that grace should be magnified, and that sinners should be saved.
They used to jeer at the Tabernacle in Moorfields, and the one in Tottenham Court Road, and call them
Mr. Whitefield's soul-traps ;— a very excellent name for a place of worship ; such may this Tabernacle
ever be! — C. H. S., in a sermon preached August 19, 1877, a night when the Tabernacle was free to all comers,
the regular congregation having vacated their seats.
I am sure that, if a minister wants conversions, he must identify himself with his people. There
are persons, nowadays, who make a difficulty about Moses praying for Israel, " If Thou wilt torgive their
sin ; and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written ;" and they raise
questions about Paul being willing to be separated from Christ for his brethren, his kinsmen according
to the flesh. Oh, but there is no difficulty in the matter if you once get to feel such an intense love for
the souls of men that you would, as it were, pawn your own salvation, and count it Httle if you might
but bring the people to the .Saviour's feet ! A man who has never felt that willingness does not yet
know the true throb of a pastor's heart ; he has not been ordained to be a shepherd if he would not lay
down his life for the flock, if it were necessary. — C. H. S., in a sermon preached at the Tabernacle,
August 23, 1883.
He who has spoken the Word with power to the heart bears to him who has heard it the relation-
ship of a father to a son. There are many, in this place, to whom I stand in this most hallowed
connection. You recognize it, I know, and I desire to express my intense and fervent love to the many
of you who have been born unto God by the preaching of the W^ord here. I do not know of anything
that has more greatly comforted me, during the last week or two. in the time of sharp contention tor the
faith, than the reception of so many letters, from persons of whom I have never before heard, saying,
"You do not know me, but you are my spiritual father; and now, at such a time of trial as this is to you,
I must write and send you a word of good cheer." It is always a cause of thankfulness to me when my
testimony is blessed to the conversion of a seeking soul ; but when I think of the hundreds, and the
thousands, — ay, I am not exaggerating when I say thousands of converts, — whom I have met with here
on earth, and the many more, at present unknown to me, whom I hope to meet with either here or in
Heaven, I do rejoice, yea, and I will rejoice ; and I cannot help expressing my great love to all those
who have been brought to the Saviour by the words which I have preached and published,— C. H. S.,
in a sermon delivered at the Tabernacle, November 6, 1887.
N one of the sermons preached in connection with his pastoral
silver wedding, Mr. Spurgeon called attention to the tact that,
during his twenty-five years' ministry in London, more than nine
thousand persons had joined the church ; while, probably, an equal
or still larger number had been converted through hearing or
reading his sermons, although they had not become members at
the Tabernacle. The previous volumes of the Autobiography have contained many
28 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
references to these converts, and records of the means blessed to their salvation ;
but it appears necessary to devote two chapters in the present volume to the same
subject in ordei- adequately to set forth this most important part of the dear Pastor's
service, and to show how abundantly the favour of God rested upon it from its
commencement to its close. It is a cause for devout thankfulness that, in a great
measure, a similar blessing still accompanies his published words, both in our own
tongue, and in many of the languages into which they have been translated. The
first part of the following narrative is given in Mr. Spurgeon's own words ; the
latter portion consists of the instances of usefulness which various friends have
described ; and, to make the chapters as varied and as complete as possible, there
are included in them several specimens of the beloved soul-winner's methods of
dealing with anxious enquirers and sinners seeking the Saviour. The cases of
blessing here recorded are selected from the whole of his London ministry ; and
are, therefore, all the more representative of the continued usefulness ot his work
for the Lord during the long period from 1853 to 1892.
There are some passages of Scripture which have been more abundantly
blessed to the conversion of souls than others have ; they may be called salvation
texts. We may not be able to discover how it is, or why it is ; but, certainly, it is
the fact that some chosen verses have been more used of God than any others in
His Word to bring men to the cross of Christ. They are not more inspired than
other parts of the Bible ; but I suppose they are more noticeable, from their
position, or from their peculiar phraseology they are more adapted to catch the eye
of the reader, and are more suitable to a widely prevailing spiritual condition. All
the stars in the heavens shine very brightly, but only a few catch the eye of the
mariner, and direct his course ; the reason is this, that those few stars, from their
peculiar grouping, are more readily distinguished, and the eye easily fixes upon
them. So I suppose it is with those passages of God's Word which especially
attract attention, and direct the sinner to the cross of Christ. One of the chief of
those texts is Isaiah xliii. 25 : " I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy trans-
gressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins." I have proved it to
be a most useful one ; for, out of the thousands of persons who have come to me to
narrate their conversion and religious experience, I have found a very large
proportion who have traced the Divine change which has been wrought in their
hearts to the hearing of this precious declaration of sovereign mercy, and the
application of it with power to their souls by the Holy Spirit.
Some who come to see me, with the view of joining the church, cannot say
much, and they think that I shall be very dissatisfied with them because they make
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 29
a great muddle of their narrative ; but the people with whom I am least satisfied are
those who reel off their yarn by the yard ; they have it all ready to repeat, and
everything is arranged as prettily as possible. As I listen to it, I know that
someone has told them what to say, and they have learned it all lor me to hear.
I like far better the testimony that I have to pick out in little bits, but which I
know comes fresh from the heart of the trembling convert. Sometimes, it costs
the poor soul a tear or a real good cry, and I have to go round about in all manner
of ways to get hold of the story at all ; but that shows that it is true, and that the man
never borrowed it. I like to hear the experience of a believer, when he comes
straight out of the world, and out of the ways of sin, to confess his faith in Christ.
He does not know anything about the terms that Christian people use, he has not
learned our phrases ; and it is a great delight to hear it all fresh and new. Yet it is
always the same story in all the essential parts of it. However strangely he may
narrate it. It tallies with that of others in the main points. Take the experience of
a Christian man who has been brought up in the sanctuary from his childhood, and
extract the pith and marrow of it. Now take the experience of a man who has been
a horse-raeer, a drunkard, a swearer, but who has been truly converted, and extract
the essence of that. Talk to a peer of the realm who has become an heir of the
Kingdom of Heaven, and take the substance of his experience. Now speak to a
chimney-sweep who has been brought to the Lord, and get the gist of his
experience ; put them all side by side, and you will not know one from the other.
There are always the same essential marks, — death, birth, life, food, — Christ in the
death, the birth, the life, the food, — repentance, faith, joy,- the work of the Spirit of
God. But it is very sweet to hear the story told in the many difterent ways in which
the converts tell it. The true child of grace is ever the same in heart, although the
outward appearance may continually vary.
Among the many thousands of souls who have been brought to know the Lord
under my instrumentality, I have often noticed that a considerable proportion of
these, and of the best members of our church, too, were won to the Saviour, not by
legal terrors, but by gentler means. Sitting, on one occasion, to see enquirers, I
should think that there were as many as twelve out of the twenty-three whose
convictions of sin were not distinctly marked with the terrors of the law. I asked an
excellent young woman, " What was the first thought that set you really seeking the
Saviour? '•' " Oh, sir ! " she replied, " it was Christ's lovely character that first made
me long to be His disciple. I saw how kind, how good, how disinterested, how
self-sacrificing He was, and that made me feel how difterent I was. I thought, 'Oh !
I am not like Jesus !' and that sent me to my room, and I began to pray, and so I
came to trust in Him." " The first religious impression I ever had," said another,
30 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
" that set me seekino- the Saviour, was this ; a young companion of mine fell into sin,
and I knew that I was likely to do the same if I was not kept by someone stronger
than m)self I therefore sought the Lord, not so much at first on account of
past transgression, but because I was afraid of some great future sin. God visited
me, and I then felt conviction of sin, and was brought to Christ?." Singularly
enough, too, I have met with scores of persons who have trusted in Christ, and then
have mourned their sins more afterwards than they did before they believed. Their
convictions have been more terrible after they have known their interest in Christ
than they were at first. They have seen the enormity of the evil alter they have
escaped from it ; they have been plucked out of the miry clay, and their feet set
upon the rock ; and then, afterwards, they have seen more fully the depth of that
horrible pit out of which they have been snatched. It is not true that all who are
saved suffer such convictions and terrors as some of us had to endure ; there are very
many who are drawn with the cords of a man and the bands of love. There are
some who, like Lydia, have their hearts opened, not by the crowbar of conviction,
but by the picklock of Divine grace. Sweetly drawn, almost silently enchanted by
the loveliness of Jesus, they say, " Draw me, we will run after Thee."
A young woman came to me, one day, after a service, to ask me whether I
really meant what I said when I declared that he that believed in Jesus Christ was
saved there and then. "Yes," I replied ; and I gave her the Scriptural warrant for
the statement. " Why ! " she exclaimed^ " my grandfather told me that, when
he found religion, it took him six months, and they had nearly to put him into a
lunatic asylum, he was in such a dreadful state of mind." " Well, well," I answered,
" that sometimes happens ; but that distress of his did not save him. That was
simply his conscience and Satan together keeping him away from Christ. When he
was saved, it was not by his deep feelings ; it was by his believing in Jesus Christ."
I then went on to set the Saviour before her as our sole ground ot hope in
opposition to inward feelings. " I see it," she said ; and I rejoiced as I noticed the
bright light that passed over her face, a flash of heavenly sunshine which I have
often seen on the countenances of those who have believed in Jesus Christ, when
peace fills the soul even to the brim, and lights up the countenance with a minor
transfiguration. Scores of times, when I have been talking with those who have
been utterly bowed down beneath sin's burden, they have looked as though they
were qualifying for an asylum through inward grief; but as soon as they have
caught this thought, " Christ stood as the Substitute for me ; and if I trust in Him, I
have the proof that He did so, and I am clear," their faces have been lit up as with
the very glory of Heaven.
Some persons have come to me for spiritual guidance because they have been
misled by others. One lady, who called upon me, said that she had not heard me-
C. I-I. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 3 1
preach, but she had been reading- my sermons, and God had been pleased to bless
them to her, not only to her conviction, but to her conversion. She went to
the clergyman of the parish, full of joy at having found the Saviour, and began to
tell him of her gladness, and how she rejoiced that all her sins were blotted out.
He stopped her, and said, " My good woman, that is all a delusion ; you have
no right to believe that your sins are pardoned, till you have led several years of
piety and devotion." She went away sad, and she came to ask me if what the
clergyman said was true ; and when I quoted that verse, —
" The moment a sinner believes,
And trusts in his crucified God,
His pardon at once he receives.
Redemption in full through His blood ;" —
"Oh!" she said, "I see it clearly now;" and when I went on to tell her that
many, who had believed in Christ, had been black sinners one moment, and
white as snow the next, by casting themselves simply on Christ, they had instantly
found peace, she could not but take to her heart the precious promises of Christ,
and, believing in Jesus, being justified by faith, she had the peace of God that
passeth all understanding, and she went away rejoicing in Jesus.
I was going to preach in the country, on one occasion ; and before I went,
I received a letter from a young man who wrote : — " Dear Sir, — When you come
to this town, do preach a sermon that will fit me ; for I have heard it said that we
must all think ourselves to be the wickedest people in the world, or else we
cannot be saved. I try to think so, but I cannot, because I have not been the
wickedest. I want to be saved, but I do not know how to repent enough." Of
course, I told him that God does not require every man to think himself the
wickedest in the world, because that would sometimes be to think a falsehood,
for there are some men who are not so sinful as others are. What God requires,
is, that a man should say, " I know more of myself than I do of other people ;
and from what I see of myself, not merely of my actions, but of my heart, I do
think there can be few worse than I am. They may be more wicked openly •
but, then, I have had more light, more privileges, more opportunities, more
warnings, and therefore I am, in my own opinion at least, more guilty than they
are." Some friends have really made an obstacle out of the very thing for
which they ought to have been most grateful. An excellent and amiable young
woman, when converted to God, said to me, "You know, sir, I used almost to
wish that I was one of those very bad sinners whom you so often invited to come
to Jesus, because I thought then I should feel my need more ; that was my
difficulty, I could not feel my need of Christ." It is a pity that any should
make a hindrance of this matter ; yet they do, and others make a difficulty for the
opposite reason ; they say, " Oh ! we could trust Christ if we had been kept from sin."
32 C. H. SPUKGEONS AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
The fact is, that unbeHeving souls will not trust Christ whichever way they have
lived ; for, from some quarter or other, they will find cause for doubting ; but,
when the Lord the Spirit gives them faith, big sinners will trust Christ quite as
readily as those who have not been great offenders openly ; and those who have
been preserved frorn open sin will trust Him as joyfully as the vilest transgressors.
We have had, in the Tabernacle, many very remarkable instances of how God
does still bless the outcasts and the very chief of sinners. There was a man, known
in the village where he lived by the name of Satan, because of his being so
thoroughly depraved. He was a sailor, and as another seaman in that place had been
the means of the conversion of all the sailors in a vessel belonging to the port, this
man desired to sail with him to try and beat his religion out of him. He did his
best, — or rather, his worst, — but he signally failed ; and when the ship came to
London, the Christian man asked the ungodly one whether he would come to
the Tabernacle. He did not mind coming to hear me, for, as it happened, I was
brought up near the place where he lived. This "Satan" came, on the Lord's-day
morning when the text was upon soul-murder; and, by the Holy Spirit's gracious
application of the Word to his heart, he sat, and sobbed, and cried under the
sermon at such a rate that he could only say, " People are noticing me, I had
better go out ; " but his companion would not let him go Out ; and, from that day
forth, he became a new creature in Christ Jesu.s, and he is living and walking in
the truth, an earnest believer, singularly clear in his doctrinal knowledge, and doing-
all that he can for the spread of the Kingdom of Christ.
On another occasion, on a Lord's-day morning, I preached upon the words
of the leper, who said to Jesus, " Lord, if Thou wilt. Thou canst make me clean."
On the following Thursday morning, I received this letter : — " Dear Sir,- — I feel
so happy to tell you that the Lord has pardoned a poor outcast of society. I got
into your place, in a crowd, hoping nobody would see me. 1 had been out all
night, and was miserable. While you were preaching about the leper, my whole
life of sin rose up before me. I saw myself worse than the leper, cast away by
everybody ; there is not a sin I was not guilty of. As you went on, I looked
straight away to Jesus. A gracious answer came, ' Thy sins, which are many, are
forgiven.' I never heard any more of your sermon, I felt such joy to think that
Jesus died even for a poor harlot. Long ere you get this letter, I trust to be on
the way to my dear home I ran away from. Do please pray for me that I may
be kept by God's almighty power. I can never thank you enough for bringing
me to Jesus." If it had not been for that -sentence about going home, I might
have had some doubt concerning her conversion ; but when a fallen girl goes home
to her father and mother, it is a sure case. This letter gave me great joy ; to see
souls saved, is Heaven to me.
C. II. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. T,;^
Not only has there been a great variety in the converts during my ministry, but
the means blessed to their conversion have been very varied/"' One brother, when he
came to join the church, told us that, as an ungodly stranger, he was going into
Exeter Hall just as I gave out Charles Wesley's hymn, beginning —
" Jesu, lover of my soul."
He said to himself, " Does Jesus really love me ? Then, why should I live in
enmity to Him ? " There and then, he turned unto the Lord ; and, not long after,
he came boldly out, and confessed his faith in Christ, and sought to do all he could
to lead others to the Saviour.
I remember one friend coming to me, and saying, very earnestly, " I should
like, sir, to take a seat in the Tabernacle." I answered, " Well, do so, by all manner
of means ; I am very glad when people do so." " But," said he, " I may not come
up to what you expect of me, for I have heard that, if I take a sitting here, you will
expect me to be converted, and I cannot guarantee that." " No," I replied, " I do
not want you to guarantee it ; I do not mean the word expect in that sense at all ;
but I do hope that it will be so." " Oh ! " exclaimed he, " and so do I ; I am going
to take a sitting with that very view." And it was so ; of course, it was so. When
the man wished it, God accepted the wish, and heard the prayer, and he was brought
to Christ, and joined the church.
One brother, when he was giving his testimony before being baptized, said : —
"The first time I came to hear Mr. Spurgeon in the Tabernacle, if you had asked
me about myself, I should have told you that I was as religious a man as ever lived
in Newington, and as good a man, certainly, as ever formed part of any congre-
gation ; but all this was reversed when I heard the gospel that day. I came out of
the building with every feather plucked out of me. I felt myself the most wretched
sinner who could be on the face of the earth, and I said, ' I will never go to hear
that man again, for he has altogether spoiled me.' But that was the best thing which
could have happened to me ; I was made to look away from myself, and all that I
could do, to God, 'and to His omnipotent grace, and to understand that I must pass
under my Creator's hand again, or I could never se?i His face with joy. I learned
to loathe my own righteousness as filthy rags, fit only for the fire, and then I sought
to be robed in the perfect righteousness of Christ."
Another man, who came to join with us in church-fellowship, owed his con-
version, indirectly, to a Jew. He was on an omnibus going by the Tabernacle, one
* Among the interesting instances of blessing which Mr. Spurgeon did not himself record, was the following, which was
reported by a friend : — " Mr. Spurgeon went to preach at a prominent chapel, and, after taking tea at the deacon's house, he
walked down to the place of worship under the guidance of the son of the household. ' Do you love my Master ? ' was the
question which, in his clear, manly way, the Pastor put to his young companion. Before replying, he stopped in the street,
and, looking his questioner straight in the face, said, ' Mr. Spurgeon, I have walked down to this chapel with the ministers for
several years, and not one of them ever asked me such a question before.' That faithful word was the beginning of a new
life; and, seeking God, he found pardon and peace through Christ."
c 4
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Sunday, and a crowd was standing- outside, as usual, waiting for the doors to be
opened. The person sitting next to him was a well-known Jew. "Ah!" said the
man, "that humbug always attracts the people." The Jew turned round to him, and
enquired, "Would not you like to see such a crowd as that round your shop? I
should welcome them at my place of business. I have ridden past here these
twenty-eight years, and have always seen just such a crowd as that waiting to get in.
Now, if your shop had been crowded thus for twenty-eight years, and anybody said
that you did not sell a good article, what would you reply ? You would probably
answer that those people were good judges, and that, if you had not supplied goods
that were satisfactory, they would not have kept on coming. Now, I am a Jew, yet
I am inclined to go in, and listen to what Mr. Spurgeon has to -say, because I see
these crowds of people going to hear him." The man who had at first made the
offensive remark was greatly impressed by his companion's observation, -and in
telling us how it affected him, he said, " I discovered that I had been buying the
wrong article, and I thought the Jew had spoken very sensibly, so I resolved to go,
and see and hear for myself." He came, examined the article that was offered for
sale, and bought it on the gospel terms, "without money and without price."
One Sabbath evening, while preaching in the Tabernacle, I felt moved to say : —
" Dear mother, if you have never talked with your daughter about her soul, do it
this very night. ' But,' you reply, ' when I get home, she will be in bed.' If so, then
wake her up, but do talk and pray with her to-night ; and then let her fall asleep
again ; begin at once this holy service if you have neglected it until now." One
good woman, who was present, went straight home, and did exactly what I had said ;
she woke her daughter up, and began speaking to her about the Saviour. The dear
girl said, " Oh, mother ! I am glad you have spoken to me about Jesus ; for
months, I have been wishing you would do so." It was not long before the
mother brought her daughter to see me about joining the church, and then told me
how the blessing had come to her.
On various occasions, the Lord has set His seal upon a very simple request that
I made to my congregation. I asked those who were present, after they reached .
their homes, to spend a litde time quiedy and alone, and then, when they had
honestly considered their condition in the sight of God, to take a pencil and paper,
and to write one of two words. If they felt that they were not believers in the Lord
Jesus Christ, I asked them to write the word Condemned ; but if they were trusting
to Him alone for salvation, to put on the paper the word Forgiven. Several friends
were brought to decision for Christ in that way ; amongst them was one young man
who, at first, wrote the word Condemned ; but, as he looked at it, his tears began to
flow, and his heart began to break ; and, before long, he fled to Christ, put the paper
in the fire, took another piece, wrote on it the word Forgiven, and soon came to tell
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography. 35
me the good news, and to ask that he might be admitted to church-fellowship. In
another case, a man went home, and told his wife that he was o-oino- to write the
word Condemned ; she pleaded with him in vain, for he took the pencil, and was
just about to make the letter C ; but his little daughter, a Christian girl, cauoht hold
of his hand, and said, "No, father, you shall not write it;" and by the united
entreaties of his wife and child, the man was brought to the Saviour, and afterwards
became a member with them at the Tabernacle.
My experience goes to show that there have been persons converted to God by
doctrines that some might have thought altogether unlikely to produce that result.
1 have known the doctrine of the resurrection to bring sinners to Christ ; I have
heard of scores brought to the Saviour by a discourse upon election, — the very sort of
people who, as far as I can see, would never have been reached if that truth had not
happened to be an angular doctrine that just struck their heart in the right place,
and fitted into the crevices of their nature. I have often preached a terrible sermon
upon the law, and afterwards found that sinners had been comforted by it. God
frequently blesses the Word in the very opposite manner to that In which I thought
it would be blessed, and He brings very, very many, to know their state by nature
by doctrines which I should have thought would rather have comforted believers
than awakened the unconverted. I am constantly driven back to the oreat founda-
tion truth of Divine Sovereignty, and am made to realize that, In grace as well as In
providence, —
"God moves in a mysterious way.
His wonders to perform."
I was talking, one day, with an aged minister ; and I noticed that he put his hand
into his waistcoat pocket, and brought out a letter that was well-nigh worn to pieces.
As he unfolded It, he exclaimed, "God Almighty bless you, sir! God Almicrhty
bless you, sir! " I said, "Thank you, my dear sir, for that blessing, but what makes
you give it to me?" The good man replied, " I had a son, who I thought would
be the stay of my old age ; but he disgraced himself, and ran away from home,
and I could not tell where he had gone, only that he said he was goino- to America."
When the minister had told me so much of his story, he bade me read the letter
which ran thus: — "Dear Father, — I am here in x"\,merlca : I have found a situation,
and God has prospered me. I write to ask your forgiveness for the many wronos
that I have done you, and the grief I have caused you ; and to tell vou that
blessed be God, I have found the Saviour. I have joined the church here, and
hope to spend my life in the Redeemer's service. This great change happened
thus. I did not sail for America on the day I expected to start ; and, havino- a
leisure hour, I went down to the Tabernacle to see what It was like, and there
36 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
God met with me. In his sermon, Mr. Spurgeon said, ' Perhaps there is a runaway
son here. The Lord call him by His grace!' And He did call me." "Now,"
said the minister, as he folded up the letter, and put it into his pocket again, " this
son of mine is dead, and he has gone to Heaven ; and I love you, and shall
continue to do so as long as I live, because you were the means of bringing him
to Christ." It is very difficult to say which ot us was the more happy as we rejoiced
together over the wanderer who had thus been brought to the Lord.
On another occasion, a lad, who was just going to sea, came to the Tabernacle,
and was converted ; and, a few hours after, was in Heaven. He wrote to tell his
parents that he had found the Saviour ; and, just as they were reading his letter,
they received news that the vessel in which he sailed had been in collision, and
that he was drowned.
Two enquiring ones came to me in my vestry. They had been hearing the
gospel from me for only a short season, but they had been deeply impressed by
it. They expressed their regret that they were about to remove far away, but
they added their gratitude that they had heard me at all. I was cheered by their
kind thanks, but felt anxious that a more effectual M'ork should be wrought in them,
and therefore I asked them, " Have you in very deed believed in the Lord Jesus
Christ ? Are you saved ? " One of them replied, " I have been trying hard to
believe." I have often heard this statement, but I will never let it go by me
unchallenged. "No," I said, "that will not do. Did you ever tell your father
that you tried to believe him ? " After I had dwelt awhile upon the matter, they
admitted that such language would have been 'an insult to their father. I then
set the gospel very plainly before them in as simple language as I could, and I
beo-aed them to believe Jesus, who is more worthy of faith than the best of fathers.
One of them replied, " I cannot realize it ; I cannot realize that I am saved." Then
I went on to say, "God bears testimony to His Son, that whosoever trusts in the
Lord Jesus Christ is saved. Will you make Him a liar now, or will you believe
His Word?" While I thus spoke, one of them started as if astonished, and
she startled us all as she cried, "Oh, sir, I see it all ; I am saved ! Do bless Jesus
for me ; He has shown me the way, and He has saved me. I see it all." The
esteemed sister who had brought these friends to me knelt down with them while,
with all our hearts, we blessed and magnified the Lord for a soul bi-ought into
the light. The other young woman, however, could not see the gospel as her
companion had done, though I feel sure she will do so ; but it seemed strange that,
both hearing the same words, one should come out into clear light, and the other
should remain in the o'loom.
CHAPTER LXXXVI.
dfnquims anb Conbtrts (Continued).
if,|iHEN talking with anxious enquirers, I am often amazed at the
ingenuity with which they resist the entrance of the truth into
their hearts. I do not think I have ever been so much astonished
at the invention of locomotive engines, electric telegraphs, or any
other feats of human mechanisnii, as I ha\-e been at the marvellous
aptitude of simple people in finding out reasons why they should
not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. After I have proved to them to a
demonstration that it is the most reasonable and fitting thing in the world tor
them to trust themselves with Christ, they ask, "How is this to be done?" or,
" How is that to be accomplished?" and they argue, first one way, and then another,
all against their own best interests. Often, I go patiently through the whole process
again and again ; and even when that has been done, there comes another objection.
I have tracked these people to their holes as diligendy as if I had been a fox-hunter,
and I have tried to unearth them from their hiding-places ; but I find that they can
often burrow faster than I can follow them. Oh, the " ifs " and " buts " they put;
the "perhaps," and " peradventure," and " I don't feel this," and " I don't feel that"!
Oh, that wicked questioning of Christ ! While talking with them, endeavouring to
comfort them, and I hope not unsuccessfully, I am often led to realize more deeply
than before, in my own mind, what an awful crime it is to doubt God, to doubt
Him who speaks from above, to doubt Him who hung bleeding on the tree.
Sitting, one day, to see enquirers, a young Dutchman came into the room. He
had crossed from Flushing, and desired to tell me his difficulties of soul. He began,
" Sir, I cannot trust in Christ." My answer was, "Why not? What has He done
that you should speak so ill of Him ? I have trusted everything in His hands, and
I believe Him to be quite trustworthy. What do you know against His character?"
" Indeed, sir, I know nothing against Him, and I am ashamed that I have so
spoken, for I believe the Lord Jesus to be worthy of all confidence. That was not
what I meant. May I trust Him to save me?"
" Of course you may, for you are commanded to do so by the gospel, which
says, ' Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.' You are warned
against not believing by the words, ' He that believeth not shall be damned.' "
38 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
" I may, then, trust Christ ; but does He promise to save all who trust Him ? "
"Certainly. I have already quoted to you the promise of the gospel. It is
also written, ' Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.' If
Jesus does not save you upon your trusting Him, you will be the first He ever
cast out."
" Ah, sir, I see it ! Why did I not see it before ? I trust, and Jesus saves me.
I am well repaid for coming from Flushing."
I prayed with him, and he went his way trembling for joy.
A lady came to me, alter a service in the Tabernacle, and asked me to pray
for her. She had been before to speak to me about her soul, so I said to her, on
the second occasion, " I told you very plainly the way of salvation, namely, that
you are to trust yourself in Christ's hands, relying on His atoning sacrifice. Have
you done that?" She answered, "No," and then asked me whether I would pray
for her. I said, " No, certainly I will not." She looked at me with astonishment,
and again asked, "Will you not pray for me?" "No," I replied, "I have nothing
for which to pray for you. 1 have set the way of salvation before you so simply
that, if you will not walk in it, you will be lost ; but if you trust Christ now, you
will be saved. I have nothing further to say to you ; but, in God's Name, to set
before you life or death." Still she pleaded, " Do pray for me ! " " No," I
answered, "would you have me ask God to shape His gospel so as to let you
in as an exception? I do not see why He should. His plan of salvation is the
only one that ever has been or ever will be of any avail ; and if you will not trust
to it, I am not going to ask God anything, for I do not see what else is wanted
from Him. I put this question plainly to you, 'Will you believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ?'" I certainly was somewhat surprised when the sister said, very
deliberately, "If it be so, then, that salvation will come to me by believing, I
do believe what the Script\ire says concerning Christ ; and, moreover, I feel that I
can trust myself with Him, because He is God, and He has offered a sufficient
sacrifice for my sins; and I do trust myself to Him just now; and I feel such a
strange peace stealing over me at this very moment. I have trusted Him, and I am
certain that I am saved;" and, in an instant, she said to me, "Good evening, sir;
there are other people waiting to see you," and away she went, like a common-sense
woman as she was ; and she has often told me, since, how glad she was that I
refused to pray for her, and so brought her to the decision to trust Christ tor herself,
and thus to receive the assurance of her salvation.
There is a great contrast between the way in which different converts begin
their new life. I have sometimes thouoht that, if a man does not become a
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 39
high-class Christian during- the first three months after his conversion, he probably
never will. I have noticed some people who have commenced their Christian career
in a very feeble fashion. I hope they so began that they were really saved ; but,
still, they started doubting and fearing, and they kept on in the same style till they
went to Heaven. "Ah, sir!" said one to me once, "'either all the world has
altered, or else I have, for people I once delighted in I am now afraid of. The
things that once made me glad now make me unhappy, and those that I thouoht
melancholy are now the very things in which I find my highest joy." I am always
thankful when our friends get a very decided conversion, because, though I am not
going to say a word against those who come to Christ very gradually, yet their
experience is rather cloudy. No doubt they are just as safe as others, but they lack
a good deal of comfort afterwards ; and, sometimes, persons who are very readily
converted, and who have no very deep sense of sin, are more apt to play with evil
than others are who have had a clearer sight of its enormity. Some beoin by
serving the Lord stingily, not giving Him their whole hearts ; or they commence
coldly, and so they n>.;ver get hot with zeal all their lives. I am glad when a youncr
convert is red-hot, or even white-hot ; I like to see him too full of zeal, if that is
possible ; because, when he cools down, he will come just to the right temperature
if he is too hot at first : but, if he is cool at the beginning, what will he come to
by-and-by? There are no labourers for the Master who are so useful as those
who begin to serve Him while they are young. Sometimes. God converts men
in middle life, or even in old age, and uses them in His service ; but, still, 1
venture to assert that Church history will show that the most useful servants of
Christ were those who were caught early, and who from their youth up bore
testimony to the gospel of Jesus. In the case of some old people, who have
been professors of religion for years, but who have done next to nothinor for
Christ, I find it very difificult ever to stir them up at all When I do cret a
saddle on them, they are very restive creatures, like a horse that has never been
broken in ; but if I break then> in while they are colts, they get used to their
work, it becomes a delight to them, and thev would not be happy unless they had
something to do for the Lord Jesus. 1 remember having a considerable share
ot sneers, and rebuke-s not a few, from some who thought themselves very wise men,
because I began preaching at the age of sixteen. I was recommended to tarry at
Jericho till my beard had grown, and a great many other pieces of advice were oiven
to me ; but I have never regretted that I was a " boy-preacher " of the Word ; and if
I could have my time over again, I would like to do just the same as I did then.
I have been delighted as I have noticed the earnest efforts of many of my
church-members in seeking to bring sinners to the Tabernacle to hear the gospel.
40 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Two of our brethren, both working-men, — one of whom has been a famous runner,
and who has won prizes in many running-matches, — are accustomed, as they say, to
hunt in couples for souls. Their usual method is for one to go on one side of the
street, and his friend on the other, on the Lord's-day morning, in those parts of
London where Sabbath trading is carried on to the greatest extent. One morning,
one of them was giving a tract to a person as the other was crossing over to join
him. to communicate with him on some subject. As the second friend met the man
who had received the tract, he heard him say. with an oath, "What is the use of
giving me this tract .^ I shall be in hell in an hour ! " He said to his fellow-
labourer, on reaching him, "Did you hear what that man said?" . "No," he
answered, "I did not notice ; what was it ? " "He appeared very wild, and talked
of being in hell in an hour ; he is either insane, or he is intending to commit
suicide." " Do you think so ? Then we will be after him." They followed him, and
the second one, on coming up to the man, said to him, "What did \ou say when you
took that tract?" "That's no concern of yours," he answered, "mind your own
business." "Oh ! " was the reply, " but it is my business, for, if I heard aright, you
said that you would be in hell in an hour." "Yes, I did say so ; this world is worse
than hell, and I'll be out of it in an hour." " No, you won't," said our friend, " for I
mean to stick by you ; and I won't leave you for an hour, go where you maw"
The poor creature then succumbed, and the godly men took him into a coftee-
shop, and gave him a good breakfast. The man felt less like committing suicide
after that meal. Our friends knew that the best gospel sermon would not be likely
to benefit a man who was starving : he had tasted nothing for three days, and had
walked the streets all the night. Hence, our brethren wisely felt that they must first
feed his hungry body: and after that, they brought him to the Tabernacle. When
the service was over, their poor patient looked a little more hopeful, and the soul-
doctors thought it best to repeat the dose of solid nutriment. They took him
to a house where they were accustomed to dine, in a humble way, and he shared
their meal. He went to one of the Bible-classes in the afternoon ; and, in the
evening, they brought him again to the Tabernacle, and it pleased God to touch the
poor man's heart, and bring him to a knowledge of himself and his Saviour. Then
he became communicative, and it appeared that he had left his wife for four or five
months, and had been living a life of dissipation, sin, and poverty. He gave the
name and address of his wife, in the North of England ; she was written to, and his
fare was paid home ; and, after he had gone back, a letter came from the good
woman, saying that she had been a member with the Wesleyan Methodists, and had
been long praying for her husband, who had been an awful reprobate, and had at last
run away from home. Then she thought it was all over with him ; but God 'had
designs of love towards him, and now he had sat down at the Lord's table with her.
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 4I
She did not know what to say, her heart was so full of (gratitude to God, and to the
dear friends who had been the means (jf brin^ino- her husband to the Saviour.
At another time, a man came to join the church ; and, according to our usual
custom, he was asked how he had become converted, when he told us the following"
story. He said : — " I was employed in driving a horse and van ; I never thought of
going to any place of worship, and I do not think anybody ever said a word to me
about God or Christ until one day when I was crossing over London Bridge when,
suddenly, a man jumped up, and climbed into the back of my cart. I took my whip
to lash him oft, but he said, ' Hold hard, mate, I've got a message for you.' This was
a very curious thing to me, and I asked, ' What is it ? ' 'I will tell you, but I may
as well sit in front.' So he sat down beside me. Then I asked him, 'What is your
messaoe ? ' ' It is a messaoe front God to vour soul.' I cursed and swore at him ;
but that made no difference to him. He said, 'You are the very man I was after.
I knew you were a swearing man, tor it was that tirst attracted my attention to you,
and I am sure my message is for you.' I said to him then, ' What have you to say ?
Come, cut it short.' He did cut it short, and he put it pretty straight, too. He told
me what would become of my soul if I died a swearer, and he talked to me about
the world to come. Then he told me that there was a Saviour tor sinners, and that,
if I trusted Him, I should be saved. Before he left me, he made me promise that I
would go to hear you, sir. .So I promised, and as I always boasted that I kept
my word, I came to hear you, though I was precious sorry that I had pre)mised
to do so. I never got up so early on a Sunday morning betore ; and when the man
saw me at the gate, he took me in, and gave me his seat, and stood himselt all the
service, which I thought was very kind on his part. After the sermon, he asked me,
'Did you like it?' I replied, 'No, I did not; that is not the sort of thing that
I care, about ; I don't believe in religion,' 'Ah ! but you will,' the man said ; and he
and I parted company at the gate, and I hoped I should never meet him again.
" I did not see him for some weeks ; but, one day, as I was walking down the
Blacktriars Road, I saw him coming along, so I slipped round the first corner, and
began to run to avoid him ; but, soon, I heard somebody running alter me, and he
came up to me, and said, ' Well, mate, how are you ? ' ' All right.' ' Are you going
on any better ? ' he asked. I did not give him any answer, and then he told me
that he had made up his mind that I should be a Christian one day, and that he
never meant to let me alone till that came to pass. I believe he would have gone
into my house with me ; but, as my wife and I were Ibnd of drink, there was only a
little furniture in it, and I did not wish him to come in, and see the miserable place,
so, to get rid of him, I proposed to go and hear Mr. .Spurgeon on the next Sunday.
I kept my promise ; and, now, I am happy to say that I do not need anybod)- to
42 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
induce me to go to the Tabernacle. I have been here six months, I have found the
Saviour for m)seU", and I have got four of our men to come down to hear the gospel
with me."
Perhaps, next to the joy of actual conversions, the rescue of those who have
long been in dense spiritual darkness has given me the greatest delight. Many of
God's people are perplexed with questions concerning their interest in Christ, or they
are afflicted with deep depression of spirit out of which only the Lord Himself can
lift them up. I have tried, upon some of the sorely-troubled ones, all the promises
of the Bible which 1 could remember. I have reminded them of the person of
Christ, and of His consequent power ; of the sufferings ot Christ, and of His conse-
quent ability to cleanse from sin ; but I have many times had this answer given
to me, " When God shutteth up, who can deliver.^" and I have been very often made
to feel that, as Pastor, / could not quench the fiery darts of the wicked one for
other people, and that I could not break in pieces the sword of the enemy, for
others, or even for myself Yet I have been very happy when the Lord has enabled
me to be the means of cheering any desponding or even despairing soul. One day,
as 1 came out of the pulpit, there met me a brother-minister, and he said, "Sir, I
cannot tell you all the particulars now, but I will write to-morrow ; my wife is set at
liberty." Afterwards, he wrote to tell me how she had been in despair, and what
sorrow she had suffered, and what a grief it had been to him ; but while I preached
upon the words, " Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great
recompence of reward," she was brought out of bondage. Oh, how I praised and
blessed God, and thought that I would like to preach day and night if I might but
be the channel of such blessing" again and again !
Another case which I remember was that of a man of excellent character, well
beloved by his family, and esteemed by his neighbours, who was for twenty years
enveloped in unutterable gloom. He ceased to attend the house of God, because he
said it was of no use ; and although always ready to help in every good work, yet he
had an abiding conviction upon him that, personally, he had no part nor lot in the
matter, and never could have. The more anyone talked to him about the things of
God, the worse he became ; even prayer seemed but to excite him to more fearful
despondency. In the providence of God, I was called to preach the Word in his
neighbourhood ; he was induced to attend, and, by the Holy Spirit's blessing on the
sermon, he obtained a joyful liberty. After twenty years of anguish and unrest, he
ended his weary roamings at the foot of the cross, to the amazement of his neigh-
bours, the joy of his household, and the glory of God. Nor did his peace of mind
subside ; for, until the Lord gave him a happy admission into eternal rest, he
remained a vigorous believer, trusting and not being afraid.
C. II. SPURGEOW S AUTOBIOGRAPHY, 43
Probably the most notable instance of the uplifting- of a soul from the deepest
despair was the one which was thus related by Mr. Spurgeon, at a Monday evening
prayer-meeting ac the Tabernacle, as an illustration of the personal preparation
which a soul-winner may have to go through before the Lord uses him to certain
individuals : —
Some years ago, I was the subject of fearful depression of spirit. Various
troublous events had happened to me ; I was also unwell, and my heart sank within
me. Out of the depths I was forced to cry unto the Lord. Just before I went away
to Mentone for rest, I suffered greatly in body, but far more in soul, for my spirit
was overwhelmeci. Under this pressure, I preached a sermon from the words,
"My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" I was as much qualified to
preach from that te.xt as ever I expect to be ; indeed, I hope that few of my
brethren could have entered so deeply into those heart-breaking words. I felt to
the full of my measure the horror of a soul forsaken of God. Now, that was not
a desirable experience, I tremble at the bare idea of passing again through that
eclipse of soul ; I pray that I may never suffer in that fashion again unless the same
result should hang upon it.
That night, after the service, there came into my vestry a man who was as nearly
insane as he could be to be out of an as\lum. His eyes seemed ready to start from
his head, and he said that he should utterly have despaired if he had not heard that
discourse, which had made him feel that there was one man alive who understood his
feelings, and could describe his experience. I talked with him, and tried to encourage
him, and asked him to come again on the Monday night, when I should have
a little more time to speak with him. I saw the brother again, and I told him that I
thought he was a hopeful patient, and 1 was glad that the word had been so suited
to his case. Apparently, he put aside the comfort which I presented for his
acceptance, and yet I had the consciousness upon me that the precious truth which
he had heard was at work upon his mind, and that the storm of his soul would soon
subside into a deep calm.
Now hear the sequel. Last night, of all the times in the year, when, strange to
say, I was preaching from the words, " The Almighty hath vexed my soul," after the
service, in walked this self-same brother who had called on me five years before.
This time, he looked as different as noonday from midnight, or as life from death.
I said to him, " I am glad to see you, for I have often thought about you, and
wondered whether you were brought into perfect peace." I told you that I went
to Mentone, and my patient also went into the country, so that we had not met for
five years. To my enquiries, this brother replied, "Yes, you said I was a hopeful
patient, and I am sure you will be glad to know that I have walked in the sunlight
from that day till now. Everything is changed and altered with me." Dear friends,
44 ' C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
as soon as I saw my poor despairing patient the first time, I blessed God that my
fearful experience had prepared me to sympathize with him and guide him ; but last
night, when I saw him perlectly restored, my heart overflowed with gratitude to God
tor my former sorrowful feelings. I would go into the deeps a hundred times to
cheer a downcast spirit : it is good for me to have been afflicted that I might know
how to speak a word in season to one that is weary.
Many remarkable instances of blessing upon Mr. Spurgeon's sermons were
never reported to him while he was here. The following pleasing testimony came
to Mrs. Spurgeon on the first anniversary of his home-going : —
" More than thirty-nine years ago," the writer said, " when he was a youth of
nineteen, and I a child of ten, I heard him preach a never-to-be-forgotten sermon,
which was like an echo upon earth of the ' new song' in Heaven. I was in great
distress of soul at the time, and had just given myself up as a hopeless backslider,
when he came to our little chapel, and preached this lovely sermon. The te.xt was,
'And they sang a new song.' Vividh^ as though it only happened yesterday, do I
recall every part of that service, and the heavenly smile lighting up his dear young
face, as, looking round into our pew, he seemed to single me out, and said, ' Have
yoti learned the key-note of that new song .-^ I'll tell you in a whisper what it is, 'tis
Jesus ! only Jesus.' And then he went on ringing ' those charming bells' of 'free
grace and dying love' till my poor heart was lifted up into joy, and peace, and full
assurance, which, through all the ups and downs of thirty-nine years of spiritual life,
I have never quite lost. From that day, till the hour he left this world for his native
Land, it has been my joy to watch, with the profoundest sympathy and love, his
wonderful and beautiful life, — to weep over his sorrows, to rejoice in his joys, and to
pray for him in all the trials he endured with such Christlike gentleness and patience.
None have greater reason than 1 to say, tVom the very heart, ' Bless God for dear
Mr. Spurgeon ! ' The weekl\- sermon is, next to the Word of God, my meat and my
drink ; each one seems more precious than the last. I have given away as many as
I could ; and one, entitled, ' Christ's Hospital,' (No. 2,260,) is such an exquisite
jewel, such a gem of the first water, that I should like to place it in the hands of
every human being on the globe.
" I have often wished to tell your dear one all this ; but now, in your dark days,
I feel I must tfell you. Mav ' the consolations of God ' indeed abound towards you ! "
Pastor E. A. Tydeman, one of " our own men," thus relates how a sermon by
Mr, Spurgeon was the means of preserving from suicide one who had long been in
terrible distress of mind : — " Some years ago, in a village on the South Coast, I met
an elderly man, who gave me the following account of the only time he ever heard
C. IT. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 45
our dear President. He said : — ' It was in the year 1861, and I was in great anxiety.
My business was failing, we had trouble in the family, and, worse than all, I had
allowed my triads to estrange my heart from God. I had from childhood been an
attendant upon the means of grace, and for many years I was a member of a Baptist
church ; but I had gradually become a " backslider in heart," and now, when these
outward troubles came upon me, it appeared to me that the Lord had cast me away
from His presence, and taken His Holy Spirit from me, till I said, with Israel's
first king, "God is departed from me, and answereth me no more." My wife — a
godly woman, — did her best to rouse me from my despondency, but to no purpose ;
and I went from bad to worse, forsaking the house of God, and the companionship
of His people, till I seemed to have lost all hope, and almost all desire for the
knowledge of the ways of the Lord. Then I seemed to hear the evil one say,
" Curse God, and die." Yes, what better course could I take ? If I must be
damned, why not meet my fate at once ? I went down to the shore, for I lived not
far from the sea ; but the thought that my body would probably be washed up where
I was so well known, deterred me.
"'Then came the suggestion, why not go to London, where I should be a
stranger, and end my life there ? So, going home, — it was a Saturday, and the
week's work was done, — I got ready for the journey, and telling my wife that I should
not be home till Monday, I took train and went to town ; and, all that evening, I
wandered from street to street in utter wretchedness, and when it was dark, I went
down to the riverside ; but, at every available spot, I found someone standing about,
who seemed to be watching me, so I gave up the idea tor that night. I found a
lodging somewhere in the neighbourhood of Kennington Lane, intending to carry
out my purpose on the Sunday, when the wharves and lanes would be more lonely.
It was long before I could sleep, and I was late in rising the next morning. After I
had eaten my breakfast, I went out, and asking the way to London Bridge, turned
my steps in that direction, the load at my heart heavier than ever, yet with no
relenting in my determination to end my wretched life. Wandering disconsolately
along, I came to a spot where a crowd was waiting, outside a large building, which I
must have passed the night before without noticing it. I found, on enquiry, that the
place was none other than " Spurgeon's Tabernacle," — as my informant styled it.
Scarcely realizing what I did, I joined the people waiting on the steps, and, when the
doors were opened, found myself hurried forward by the press, till I had reached the
uppermost landing. Once fairly inside, it seemed as though every seat was
occupied ; but, after a while, I secured a place at the back of a recess in the top
gallery.
" 'There was a hush as the minister came to the front of the platform, and said,
" Let us pray," but the prayer did not touch me, for he was evidendy on the mount
46 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
with God, and I was in the deeps of despair. After the prayer, a hymn was sung ;
but,' though all around me were singing, I could not ; and I remained in the same
state all through the reading, the singing, and the prayer which followed, for my
heart was still unmoved, unless it was to a deeper depth of darkness. Then came
the text. Psalm xxxv. 3 ; and if I live to be a hundred years old, I shall never forget
the thrill which passed through me as Mr. Spurgeon read these words, "Say unto
my soul, I am thy salvation," and then, coming forward to the front rail, he looked
up at me, and said, " Say unto Jiiy soul, I am thy salvation," and if ever God's voice
was heard on earth by human ear, it was heard by me that morning. The first
time, for many a weary week, a gleam of hope came to my soul, and I sat and drank
in the message, as a thirsty pilgrim in a desert land might drink at Elim. As the
sermon ad\^anced, and various phases of soul-conflict were depicted, I trembled with
emotion, till I could sit no longer ; it was fortunate that I was in front of no one, for
there I stood during the rest of the service, with eyes intent, and, for aught I know,
with mouth wide open, too ; and when once, during the sermon, the preacher looked
up at me, and spoke of one " standing far away in the gallery," * I thought that I
must have, shouted. Long before the close of the discourse, my handkerchief was
wet with tears, but they were tears of joy ; and when the end came, I made straight
for the door, saying to those before me, " Let me out. or I shall knock somebody
down ! " " Are you out of your mind } " said one. " No, thank God ! ' I answered,
" not out of it, but in it for the first time for many a long day ; " and so I passed out
into the street, and for hours, oblivious of everyone and everythmg around me, I
wandered up and down with a heart as full of joy and praise as it could hold ; and
from then till now, I have never lost the assurance that God is my salvation.' "
Another of " our own men," Pastor W. E. Rice, reports the following-
remarkable case of conversion, which was related to him by a Congregational
minister in Australia :— " Some years ago, a father, living in a country town,
apprenticed his son to a London silversmith. For a time, all seemed to be going
well : but, one day, he received a letter to say that the lad had robbed his master.
With a sad heart, he hastened to town only to find, alas ! that it was but too true.
The indentures were cancelled, and the boy left his situation in disgrace. As the
father and son were walking through the crowded streets of the City, the lad
suddenly darted away, and disappeared. The police searched for him in vam, and
the poor man had to return alone to tell the sad news to his broken-hearted wife.
"Years passed, and nothing was heard of the prodigal son, One Sabbath
evening, the parents stayed home from the service ; and, while sitting quiedy reading
* In the published sermon, No. 384, this expression appears :—" Though you are standing far away in the gallery, you,
say, ' Ah ! that is my character.' "
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 47
God's Word, they were unusually constrained to pray for their lost boy ; and they
knelt down together, and asked that he might be arrested in his sinful career, and
brought back to the old home. Presently, the servant came back from the service
she had attended, and her master enquired as to the sermon she had heard.
' Oh, sir ! ' she said, ' I have not heard a word of the sermon ; I could do nothing but
pray for Master Harry.'
"That night, some men M'ere passing the Metropolitan Tabernacle, on their
way to break into the shop ot a certain silversmith in London, when one said to
another, ' Harry, just run up the steps, and see the time.' He did so, opened the
door, and stood in the aisle. Mr. Spurgeon was preaching about the dying thief;
and, seeming to point direct at Harry, said, in those ringing, well-remembered tones,
'If there is a thief here to-night, Jesus Christ can save him.'' The arrow hit the
mark. Harry went back to his garret to pray ; and, in a week's time, there was a
knock at the door of the old home in that country town. The father opened it,
stood face to tace with his long-lost son : and then followed the old story of the
prodigal's return, — tears, confession, forgiveness, welcome, restoration, joy."
Mr. Cheyne Brady has thus recorded the means used by God for the conviction
and conversion of a man who had previously lived a terribly dissolute life : — "After
some years spent in the service of sin, he set his heart on a change of residence.
A house likely to suit him being pointed out, he went to the proprietor, and asked
for the key. The landlord offered to accompany him, and show him the house : but
he declined, saying he preferred going over it by himself Having examined the
lower part of the dwelling, he proceeded upstairs, and ascended to the attic. As he
entered, he saw something scratched on the wind<^w-pane, and approached nearer
in order to read it. These words, traced with a diamond, met his gaze : —
" ' Prepare to Meet tiiv God.'
" He staggered, and, for the first time in his life, he trembled before his Maker.
The Spirit of; God met him there alone. He stood riveted to the spot ; and, in the
agony of his soul, he cried out, ' Lord, have mercy upon me ! Lord, save me ! ' At
length, he got out of the house ; but the solemn message followed him, ' Prepare
to meet thy God.' He lost all pleasure in his fox-hunting, and became utterly
miserable. He tried to drown serious thought amongst his evil companions, but
those warning words haunted him wherever he went.
" Several days passed thus, when his eye caught a notice that, in a certain
village, sixteen miles off, Mr. Spurgeon was to preach that evening. He said to
himself, ' Pll eo and hear that man.' He ordered his horse, and rode the sixteen
miles, that he might listen to something which, perchance, would give his wounded
spirit relief. The text was, ' Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
48 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
and I will give you rest ; ' and, in the course of the sermon, Mr. Spurgeon made an
earnest personal appeal, which was blessed by the Holy Spirit to the conscience-
stricken sinner, who, there and then, believed in the Lord Jesus, and left the chapel
a new man in Christ."
Rev. D. A. Doudney, Hatford Rectory, Faringdon, has recalled a remarkable
incident, which was related to him by Mr. Spurgeon : — " He told me that, many
years ago, a well-dressed man, with a very proud and conceited manner, came to see
him in his vestry with a view to joining the church at the Tabernacle. The man
said, ' I purpose giving seven thousand pounds to any object connected with your
congregation, or in which you are interested, but it is on the condition that you accept
me as one of your members.' Mr. Spurgeon told him that he could not receive him
into the church unless he felt sure that he was a converted man, and he asked him
several searching questions. To all these enquiries, the man gave very unsatisfactory
replies ; and, consequently, Mr. Spurgeon said that, although he was extremely
sorry, he could not see his way to accept him whilst he was in his present spiritual
state. The man was astounded. ' What ! ' he exclaimed, ' do you mean to tell me
that you will not receive me with seven thousand pounds, — seven thousand pounds?'
' No,' said Mr. Spurgeon, ' nor if you oflered me se\'enty times seven thousand
pounds.' The man went away in a rage.
" Mr. Spurgeon told me that, just then, money was greatly needed in connection
with some of his undertakings, and seven thousand pounds would have been a most
welcome gift ; but he clearly felt that his visitor was not in a satisfactory spiritual
condition, and that, therefore, he could not conscientiously accept him. Shortly
afterwards, the man was admitted into another congregation, the minister of which
was not so scrupulous ; but, some years later, the same individual came again into
Mr. Spurgeon's vestry, and it was at once evident that he was greatly altered. No
self-conceit was apparent in him then, but deep humility. He did not allude to a
gift of seven thousand pounds, or. indeed, to any gift; but. after asking Mr.
Spurgeon whether he remembered him and his rejection, he said that he had reason
to thank God, with all his heart, for the treatment he then received, because it was
the means of leading him to look within, to consider what his state was before God,
to discover his many deficiencies ; and, eventually, it resulted in his being enabled to
rejoice that he had been made a new creature in Christ Jesus. A few questions and
answers confirmed his statement, and then Mr. Spurgeon had the pleasure of
willingly accepting him. He was for some years a useful member of the church at
the Tabernacle ; and, at length, he passed away in the full faith of the gospel."
CHAPTER LXXXVII.
''OTcstoooi:i;'
We have often been advised to rise from Nightingale Lane to higher ground, to escape a portion
of the fogs and damps which hang almost always over our smoky city. In the good providence of God,
we have been led to do so, and we are now upon the Southern heights. We did not seek out the place,
but it came into our hands in a very remarkable manner, and we were bound to accept it. We have left
the room which has been so long our study, and the delightful garden where we were wont to walk and
meditate. Not without many a regret have we transferred our nest from our dear old home to the Hill
of Beulah.
What a type of our departure out of this world is a removal from an abode in which we have lived
tor years! Many thoughts have thronged our mind while we have been on the wing from the spot
where we have dwelt tor more than twenty years.— C. H. S., in "Spm-geons Illustrated Almanack"
for i8Sl.
iONCERNING the removal from "Helensburgh House" to "West-
wood," Mr. Spurgeon often said: — "I did not arrange it myself;
the Lord just put a spade underneath me, and transplanted me to
Norwood." The change came to pass in the following way. In
the year 1880, a great trouble arose through what was intended
to be only a joy and a help. Mrs. Tyson, who had long been a
generous donor to all the Tabernacle Institutions, made a will by which she meant
to leave to the College and Orphanage the greater part of her estate, subject to the
payment of certain annuities to a number of aged pensioners upon her bounty. The
kind testatrix appointed, as her executors, Mr. Spurgeon and a clerical friend,
explaining that she did so on purpose to ensure that there should be no question
about the carrying out of her intentions ; but, unhappily, the bequests included her
real as well as personal property, and therefore came within the scope of the Law
of Mortmain. The whole affair was complicated in so many ways that the
executors Avere obliged to arrange with the Trustees of the College and Orphanage
to institute a friendly suit in the Court of Chancery in order to have an authoritative
decision upon the points about which there was uncertainty. This involved a heavy
addition to the dear Pastor's work, and necessitated many journeys to " White
Lodge," Biggin Hill, Upper Norwood, where Mrs. Tyson had lived.
After the executors had paid one of their periodical visits, Mr. Spurgeon
suggested that, before returning home, they should drive as far as the front of the
Crystal Palace. Proceeding along Beulah Hill, the notice of a house and estate for
sale caught his eye as he passed a gateway which was afterwards to become very
familiar to him. He had long felt the need of removing to higher ground, and to a
more secluded spot than the once rural Nightingale Lane had become, and he had
D 4
50
C. H. SPURGEONS AUTOBIOGRAPHY,
been makino; enquiries in various directions ; but, so far, he had not heard of any
place which was sufficiently near the Tabernacle, and, at the same time, fairly clear
of the smoke and fog of London. On reaching the Palace, the return journey was
commenced; and, soon, the carriage was back in Beulah Hill, and nearing the gate
where the board had been seen. Bidding the coachman stop, the Pastor asked his
secretary to find out what the notice said. It appeared that cards to view the
property were required ; but, on asking at the house, permission was at once given
for Mr. Spurgeon to see all he wished, and then, for the first time, he passed down
the drive, and beheld his future home.
"WESrWOOD" GATES, LODGE, AND DRIVE.
C. II. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 5 1
As soon as he caught sight of " Westvvood," he exclaimed, "Oh, that place is
far too grand for me ! " and, after a very brief inspection, he left without having
any anticipation of becoming its owner. So completely did he give up all
thought of living there, that he did not even send anyone to the sale ; but, a few
days afterwards, he received a note telling him that the reserve price had not been
reached, and asking if he would make an offer for the estate. Then came what
Mr. Spurgeon always regarded as the providential interposition of God in the matter.
That very day, the builder, whom he always employed for all work needed at
" Helensburgh House," called to enquire if he wanted to sell his home ; because, if
so, one of his neighbours wished to buy it as a residence for his son-in-law who was
returning from abroad. The Pastor then mentioned the house he had seen at
Norwood, and added, "If I could get for this place anything like what is needed to
purchase the other, I should be glad to make the e.xchange." A consultation was
held as to the price to be asked, a sum was stated, and duly reported to the
neighbour, who at once said, " I should not think of offering Mr. Spurgeon any less,
for I am sure he would only fi.x a fair value ; I will give you a deposit to seal the
bargain." The builder soon returned with the message and cheque ; but Mr.
Spurgeon said, " I must wait to see if I can buy ' Westwood,' or I shall be out of
house and home." He drove again to Beulah Hill, found that he could, without
difficulty, meet the difference in the price of the two places, and, within a few hours,
the old home was sold, and the new one secured, as he always believed, by Divine
arrangement.
The incoming residents at " Helensburgh House " desired to have some
permanent memorial of their predecessor's occupancy of the house, so Mr. Spurgeon
wrote the following inscription, and had it engraved, and fixed underneath the large
painted window at the end of the study : —
"Farewell, fair room, I leave thee to a friend:
Peace dwell with him and all his kin!
May angels evermore th.e house defend !
Their Lord hath often been within."
In August, the removal took place, and in the next number of The Sword and
the Trowel, the Editor wrote: — "Simple as the matter of change of residence may
be, it has sufficed to create all sorts of stories, among which is the statement that
'Mr. Spurgeoiis people have given him a house.' My ever-generous friends would
give me whatever was needful ; but, as I had only to sell one house and buy
another, there was no necessity for their doing so. Having once accepted a noble
presentation from them, and having there and then handed it over to the Alms-
houses, it would by no means be according- to my mind to receive a second public
testimonial. One friend who heard of my change of residence right generously sent
help towards the expense of removal ; but, beyond this, it is entirely my own
52
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY,
concern, and a matter about which I should have said nothing if it had not been for
this gossip."
Though Mr. Spurgeon had described " Westwood " as being far too grand for
him, he was very vexed when an American visitor pubHshed a grossly-exaggerated
account of " its park, and meadows, and lakes, and streams, and statuary, and stables,"
which were supposed to rival those of the Queen at Windsor Castle! It would be
difticult to find the "park", for the whole estate comprised less than nine acres, —
three of which were leasehold ; — and the numerous "lakes and streams" which the
imaginative D.D. fancied that he saw, were all contained in the modest piece of
water across which the prettiest view of the house can be obtained.
A PEEP ACROSS THE LAKE.
H. SrURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
53
Mr. Spurgeon hoped that one effect of his removal to " Westwood " would be
that he might enjoy better health than he had at Clapham ; he even cherished the
notion that the change would be so beneficial that he would not need to go to Mentone
in the winter. But overwork exacted the same penalties in the new home as in the
old one. For a time, the hydropathic appliances at the Beulah Spa seemed to
afford relief; but, by-and-by, they also failed, and the Pastor, in his own expressive
way, said that he had resolved to go to Heaven as the Israelites crossed the Jordan,
dryshod. The friendly connection with the hydropathic establishment was, however,
still maintained, for its proprietor was permitted to have a pipe running from his
house to the well in Mr. Spurgeon's garden, so that any of the guests who desired
THE WELL IN THE GARDEN.
to drink the Beulah Spa water might have a supply of it. The prospectus, issued
at the time that "Westwood" was offered for sale, contained a very elaborate
description of the virtues of the water, and its medicinal value as compared with
that of other springs in England and on the Continent ; but Mr. Spurgeon never
concerned himself much about it, though he occasionally drank it himself, and gave
others the opportunity of following his example.
Apart from its private uses, perhaps " Westwood " was never more thoroughly
utilized than on the occasions when tutors and students gathered there, to spend a
long and delightful day with their beloved President.* The rosary was the usual
* This happy custom has been continued annually by Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon.
54
C. H. SPURGEON'S AUTOBIOGRArHY.
place of meeting- ; and here, after partaking of refreshments, a brief devotional
service was held, followed by the introduction of the new students. The name of
;nearly every one of them, or something about his previous calling, or the place from
.which he had come, furnished material for that ready wit with which Mr. Spurgeon
brightened all parts of his service ; and the freshmen were always warned that the
festive proceedings of the opening day were not to be regarded as representative
of the rest of their College career, which must be one of real hard work, so
that they might derive all possible benefit from the season of preparation for the
ministrv.
SUMMERHOUSE, AN'D BOWLS "N
As the brethren dispersed to their various forms of recreation, a number of them
always chose the Puritan game of bowls ; and in the summerhouse overlooking the
lawn, the President and tutors watched them, and, at the same time, talked over any
matters on which they might need to consult. Thus, on one occasion, a brother
was called from his plav to receive a commission to. go to the Falkland Islands;
another was summoned to eo to the mission-field ; while to others was entrusted
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
55
the honour of reviving some decaying church in an English village, or starting a
new one amidst the dense population of London or some provincial town.
4
F^W
j,..v*?wf"* ^-V
->■'
" 1
^^*>. J^jfl^**
-fS
9
H -^HnHHI
i- — -■ "^JH
^^91
^m^^^^^mi
m
^K't '■
^I^H
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^HHHHHH|
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k
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,J
THE HOUSE AS VIEWED FROM THE LAWN.
The top of the round tower, visible from the lawn, is the place from which a
wide extent of country can be seen ; and many of the students, in days past, sought
and secured permission to "view the landscape o'er." The grand stand at Epsom
is plainly discernible from the grounds ; but, from the greater height, the tower on
Leith Hill, and, in a peculiarly favourable state of the atmosphere, Windsor Castle
also, can be descried.
The steps leading down to the lawn often formed a convenient rallying-point
for the evening meeting, though sometimes the brethren were grouped around
the upper summerhouse. Far away across Thornton Heath rolled the great volume
of sound as the male choir of eighty to a hundred voices sang the sweet songs of
Zion, of which the College anthem — " Hallelujah for the Cross ! " — was certain to be
one. The words spoken by the Pres'ident, at those gatherings, are gratefully
remembered by brethren now labouring for the Lord in various parts of the world.
56
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRArHY.
During the day, informal meetings were held under " The Question Oak,"
which gained that name because, beneath its widely-spreading branches, Mr.
Spurgeon allowed the students to put to him any enquiry that they pleased, and he
answered them all without a moment's hesitation, and often interspersed his replies
with the narration of striking incidents in his own experience, such as those recorded
in Vol. III., pages 192 — 6.
The lake is not likely to be forgotten by some of the Pastors' College brethren
who are now in the ministry. On the first visit of the students to " Westwood," the
President told them to go wherever they pleased, and to explore the whole place.
It was not very long before some of them discovered that there was a boat on
THE BOAT ON THE LAKE.
the lake, and not many minutes more before the boat and all its crew had gone down
into the mud !
Happily, the coachman's cottage was close by, so it became a place of
c. H. spurgeon's autobiograpiiy. 57
refuge for the shipwrecked collegians, who received the sympathetic attentions of
their brethren while their garments were being restored to a wearable condition ;
and they were themselves temporarily clothed from the wardrobe of Mr. Spurgeon
and the coachman. As the students were not so stout as the former, nor so tall as
the latter, they were not very comfortable in their borrowed raiment ; but, later in
the day, they appeared in their proper garb, and the President then turned the
adventure to practical account by warning them to keep clear of the muddy waters
of doubt, and not to trust themselves off tcTra firma unless they were sure of the
trustworthiness of their boat and the skill of the oarsman.
In addition to the students of the Pastors' College, many other visitors have,
from time to time, been welcomed at "Westwood." On one occasion, a party of
.American friends, who had been worshipping at the Tabernacle on the Sabbath,
asked Mr. Thomas Cook, of Leicester, by whom they were being " personally
conducted " through London, to seek permission for them to see the preacher at his
home. This was readily accorded ; and one of their number. Dr. J. G. Walker,
wrote, after Mr. Spurgeon's home-going, a long and interesting account of their
reception. The following extract will convey a good idea of the impressions made
upon the Transatlantic visitors that day, and also on many others who, at different
times, saw the dear Pastor in his own house and garden :-^
"Turning into the open gateway, a short drive along the thickly-shaded
carriage-way brings us to the house itself, now and ever to be known by the familiar
name of 'Westwood.' Mr. Spurgeon is at the carriage before we alight, and gives
us such a cordial greeting that we immediately feel at home ourselves. We spend a
few moments, in the rosary, in further social intercourse. Then, with cheerful,
though somewhat laboured, steps, our genial host leads us along the grass-bordered
walks around the house, down a winding pathway sheltered by overhanging trees,
over a little rustic bridge, and along the edge of a miniature lake ; then out upon a
sloping stretch of open ground, from the summit of which the ' Westwood ' dwelling-
sends down its sunny glances, and beyond which the widening expanse of a
picturesque English landscape suggests to heart and voice alike the familiar
melody 'Sweet Beulah Land.'
"At every step, we find ourselves drawn closer and closer to the man himself,
as, with unaffected simplicity, and with easy, brilliant, entertaining conversation, he
makes the moments pass too quickly by. Recalling these glimpses of the social
and domestic life of the great preacher, leads me to indicate a few of the impressions
that are most tenderly cherished. I was especially struck with his love of nature.
He lived in loving acquaintance with his beautiful surroundings. He seemed to be
on terms of closest intimacy with every leaf, and plant, and flower ; and, without
58 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
question, this may very largely account for his own marked naturalness in speech
and movement, both in the pulpit and out of it. Like the leaves, and plants, and
flowers, he loved to be just what God made him. >
" ' Come into my picture gallery,' said he, ' and let me show you some pictures
painted by God Himself.' Again we found ourselves at the entrance to the rosary,
where our attention was directed to certain openings which had been made in the
dense foliage. Placing us in the proper positions before these open spaces, he
invited us to look through them ; and, as we did so, we found ourselves gazing upon
natural pictures that were all the more beautiful because they enabled us, as well
as the owner of the gallery, to 'look through nature up to nature's God.' In all
these methods of expression, there was not the least show of affectation, or any
assumption of sanctimoniousness. The entire conduct and conversation of the
man, both in his private walks and public ways, breathed out the fervour and the
frankness of a soul who knows and loves God, and who lives and communes with
his Saviour."
A visitor at " VVestwood," who professed to have come from the United States,
was 'received by Mr. Spurgeon with considerable cordiality because he announced
himself as "Captain Beecher, . the son of Henry Ward Beecher." He was
conducted through the grounds, and had the special attractions of the place pointed
out to him ; ■ and he, on his part, managed very well to sustain the 7'o/e he had
assumed until, just before leaving, he said, "Oh, Mr. Spurgeon! excuse me for
making such a request, but could you change a cheque for me ? Unfortunately, I
waited until after the bank was closed, and I want some money very particularly
to-night." The dear Pastor's suspicions were at once aroused, and he said, with
pardonable severity, "I do not think you ought to make such a request to me. If
you are really Mr. Beecher's son, you must be able, through the American consul,
or some friend, to get your cheque cashed, without coming to a complete stranger ; "
and, foiled in his attempt, the young- man departed. A few days afterwards, a
gentleman was murdered in a carriage on the Brighton railway ; and when the
portrait of the criminal, Lefroy, was published in the papers, Mr. Spurgeon
immediately recognized the features of his recent visitor, though he never under-
stood the reason for the man's strange call at " Westwood."
One place to which " Westwood " visitors were sure to be taken was the
fernery ; and among the many treasures to which their attention was directed, the
mother-fern was never forgotten, and most of them received from the dear owner, as
living mementos of their visit, some of the baby-ferns growing on the parent-plant.
At one of the Tabernacle prayer-meetings, Mr. Spurgeon gave an address upon the
C. II. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
59
mother-fern, in which he urged his hearers to seek to be spiritually what it was
naturally, and, by the grace of God, to be the means of reproducing themselves in
their converts, in whom the same blessed process might be repeated by the eftectual
working of the Holy Spirit.
THE FERNERY.
At one time, bees were kept at " Westwood," and Mr. Spurgeon was intensely
interested in watching them whenever he had a few minutes to spare, or any
visitors who could explain their various movements. The scientific lecturer at
the Pastors' College, at that period, was Professor Frank Cheshire, — a. great
authority on bees and bee-culture ; and he was delighted to place his wide
knowledge of the subject at the dear President's disposal. One day, he brought
with him a Ligurian queen, which he had procured on purpose to add to the value
of the Pastor's busy bees, and he was delighted to see how quickly her majesty
made herself at home among her English subjects.
After a while, Mr. Spurgeon noticed that the little creatures appeared to have
to fly so far afield, to "gather honey all the day," that they seemed quite tired out
6o " C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
when they reached the hives, or fell exhausted before they could get back to their
homes. There was also much difficulty in keeping them alive through the winter ;
so he, reluctantly, parted with them. Before he did so, however, he had one
experience, connected with them, which he never forgot. On a calm summer's
evenincr, he was standing to watch them, when, without giving him any warning,
hundreds of them settled on his clothes, and began crawling all over him. He
rushed upstairs, stripped off all his garments, threw them quickly out of the
bedroom window, and, marvellous to relate, he escaped without a single sting.
One Monday morning, not long after removing to " Westwood," the whole
household was in a state of consternation because there had been a burglary during
the night. On the Sabbath evening, a service had been h-eld in the study, and a
small window had been opened for ventilation. It was not noticed at the time for
lockino- up, so it remained open, and made it a comparatively easy matter for a thief
to enter. He did not get much for his pains, and his principal plunder almost led to
his arrest. Mr. John B. Gough had given to Mr. Spurgeon a valuable stick as a
token of his affection ; this was amongst the burglar's booty, and, after hammering
out of shape the gold with which it was adorned, he offered it for sale at a
pawnbroker's in the Borough. It was possible still to read the name, C. H.
Spuro-eon, in the precious metal, so an assistant was despatched for the police ;
but, before they arrived, the man decamped, and was not seen again.
Annoying as the incident was, the Pastor always said that he was decidedly a
o-ainer by the transaction. With the amount he received for the battered gold, he
bought some books which were of more use to him than the handsome stick would
ever have been. Then the Trustees of the Orphanage felt that, as he was the
Treasurer of the various Institutions, and often had money, and documents of value,
belonging to them, in his possession, he ought to have a safe in which to keep them,
so they presented one to him. The burglar had thrown down, in the study, a
number of lighted matches, and the- loose papers in various parts of the room were
set on fire, so that a great conflagration might easily have resulted, if the Lord had
not graciously prevented such a calamity. Thankfulness for this providential escape
was followed by the recollection that, since the transfer of the property from the
former owner, the premises had not been insured, so that the loss, in case of fire,
would have been serious. That neglect was speedily remedied ; and, by means of
electric bells, and other arrangements, special protection was provided for the future.
News of the burglary was published, in various papers, with considerable
exaggeration ; and, perhaps as the result of the publicity thus given, Mr. Spurgeon
received a letter, purporting to have been written by the thief; and it bore so many
marks of being a genuine epistle that it was really believed that it came from the
C. H. SPURGEONS AUTOBIOGRArHY. ' 6l
man himself. Among other things, he said that he didn't know it was "the
hortiings' Spurgin " who hved there, for he would not have robbed him, and he put
the very pertinent question, " Why don't you shut your windows and keep a dog?"
From that time, dates the entry to " Westwood " of "Punch" — the pug concerning
whom his master testified that he knew more than any dog ever ought to know !
"punch" and "gyp."
One Thursday evening, when preaching at the Tabernacle, Mr. Spurgeon
introduced his canine friend into the sermon, and turned to good account his
pugnacious propensities : — " I think that I have heard preachers who have seemed
to me to bring out a doctrine on purpose to fight over it. I hcive a dog, that has a
rug in which he sleeps ; and when I go home to-night, he will bring it out, and
shake it before me, — -not that he particularly cares for his rug, bnX. because he knows
that I shall say, ' I'll have it,' and then he will bark at me, and in his language say,
' No, you won't.' There are some people who fetch out the doctrines of grace just
in that way. I can see them trotting along with the doctrine of election just in
order that some Arminian brother may dispute with them about it, and that then
they may bark at him. Do not act so, beloved."
In many of his letters from Mentone, Mr. Spurgeon mentioned his dog ; a few
extracts will show how fond he was of the intelligent creature : — ■" I wonder whether
Punchie thinks of his master. When we drove from the station here, a certain
doggie barked at the horses in true Punchistic style, and reminded me of my old
friend. . . . Punchie sending me his love pleased me very much. Poor doggie,
pat him for me, and give him a tit-bit for my sake. ... I dreamed of old Punch ;
I hope the poor dog is better. . . . Kind memories to all, including Punch,
How is he getting on '^ I rejoice that his lite is prolonged, and hope he will live til!
my return. May his afflictions be a blessing to him in the sweetening of his
temper! . . . Tell Punchie, ' Master is coming !' "
" Punchie," on his part, was very much attached to his dear owner, except wher?
62 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Mr. Spurgeon had the gout, and then the old dog would not go near the poor
sufferer. The faithful friend in the time of affliction was "Punch's" son, "Gyp."
He was not as wise as his father ; indeed, he was often called a stupid creature, and
his master made a telling illustration out of his folly in barking at thunder. The
paragraph may fittingly end the present chapter, for it shows how Mr. Spurgeon
employed in his Lord's service even the slightest incidents that occurred in his
own home.
On that occasion, he wrote : — " The first time our young dog heard the
thurider, it startled him. He leaped up, gazed around in anger, and then began to
bark at the disturber of his peace. When the next crash came, he grew furious,
and flew round the room, seeking to tear in pieces the intruder who dared thus to
defy him. It was an odd scene. The yelping of a dog pitted against the artillery
of heaven ! Poor foolish creature, to think that his bark could silence the thunder-
clap, or intimidate the tempest! What was he like? His imitators are not far to
seek. Among us, at this particular juncture, there are men of an exceedingly
doggish breed, who go about howling at their Maker. They endeavour to bark
the Almighty out of existence, to silence the voice of His gospel, and to let Him
know that their rest is not to be disturbed by His warnings. We need not par-
ticularize ; the creatures are often heard, and are very fond of public note, even
when it takes an unfriendly form. Let them alone. They present a pitiful spectacle.
We could smile at them if we did not feel much more compelled to weep. The
elements of a tragedy are wrapt up in this comedy. To-day, they defy their Maker ;
but, to-morrow, they may be crushed beneath His righteous indignation. At any
rate, the idea of fearing them must never occur to us ; their loudest noise is vocalized
folly ; their malice is impotent, their fury is mere fume. ' He that sitteth in the
heavens shall laugh : the Lord shall have them in derision,'"
CHAPTER LXXXVIII.
a €vm\ WittKs mo±
Preaching at the Tabernacle, on the text, "Jesus therefore, being wearied with His journey, sat
thus on the well," Mr. Spurgeon said; — "It seems rather singular, but it is worthy of notice, tliat our
Lord appears to have been more tired than His disciples were, for they had gone away into the city to
buy meat ; I suppose that He might have gone with them if He had not been more fatigued than they
were. He was quite worn out, and thoroughly spent; and so, while they went into Sychar to purchase
provisions, He sat down on the well. I take it that, in all probability, the reason is this,— He had
mental weariness associated with His bodily fatigue ; and when the two things come together, they
make a man wearied indeed. I know that there are some who fancy that, to think and to care for
others, to preach and to teach, is not much of work. Well, my dear brother, I can assure you that you
may keep on working much longer with your arm than you can with your brain; and I am speaking
from experience when 1 say that careful thought, and great anxiety to do good, bring much- wear and
tear with them to a man's whole constitution. And if the life is taken out of anyone in two ways at
once, — -by fatigue of body, and by fatigue of mind, too, — then you will see that such a man will necessarily
be the first to give way.
"But my Lord, though He is very weary, has at last spied out the person for whom He is waiting
and watching. Here she comes ; and now His heart seems to beat more quickly. His eye is brighter
than usual, He is not half so fatigued as He was. You may have seen the faint and tired hunter suddenly
grow strong when, at last, he spies on the crag the chamois he lias come to seek ; or the fisherman
standing wearily in the stream, holding his rod, and ready to go home to his long-needed meal, but, at
last, the salmon begins to pull away at his line, now how strong a man he is ! He will go on for an hour
at that work, and he will not want to eat or drink. The whole of his being is in the fishing. So was it
w'ith my blessed Master. That woman was coming, and Christ was 'all there,' as we say. He was
ready to speak the right word, — a word in season to one who was weary, — to speak the word of
admonition, or of comfort, or of invitation; and He is 'all here' at this moment. I thought, when I
stood here to-night to speak to you, ' I am constantly coming to the Tabernacle to talk to this great
throng,' and something seemed to say to me, 'You ought to be glad to have such an opportunity.' I
thought, ' Y'es, and I am glad ; and I will at my very best preach Christ to them as long as this tongue
can move, for it is a delightful privilege to be allowed to tell men about my Master's pardoning love.'
But, oh, if He were here in bodily presence, He would do it so much better than any of us can, for His
heart is so much more full of love than our poor hearts are ! "
ANY people have wondered how it was possible for Mr. Spurgeon
to do all the work that he was able to perform, for so many years,
with such happy results. He had efficient helpers in various
departments of his service, and he was always ready to render to
them their full meed of praise. Yet, with all the assistance upon
which he could rely, there still remained for the chief worker a
vast amount of toil which he could not delegate to anyone. He was a splendid
organizer, and he could find employment suited to the capacity of many individuals
with greatly varied qualifications ; and vvhile he could keep them all busily occupied,
he was himself so quick in all his labour that he would probably do single-haiided
as much as all of them combined could accomplish.
The following description of a typical week's work will afford at least a glimpse
of the way in which the dear Pastor spent a considerable portion of his time, and
6_|. C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
it will also indicate some of the methods adopted by him in discharging the heavy
responsibilities which devolved upon him. In such an active and far-reaching life
as his was, no one Week in the year could be quite like the rest, nor indeed did the
occupations of any two days exactly resemble one another ; but the particulars
here given will supply all that needs to be known about a fairly representative
week's work.
The week must consist of seven days, for the Day of Rest was, in many
respects, the beloved preacher's busiest time ; and, although he often tried hard
to get a Sabbath for himself on the Wednesday, the ever-increasing and not always
reasonable requests for services, all over the kingdom, frequently encroached upon
the brief period of relaxation to which he was rightfully entitled, and which the
claims of health imperatively demanded. He was, perhaps, all the more willing to
take a loner holiday in the winter because he had toiled so strenuously and almost
continuously through all the other months of the year ; though it must also be
recorded that, during his seasons of rest, he probably did as much as most men do
when in full work. The sermon had to be issued every week, and the magazine
every month, material for the Almanacks had to be arranged, there were always some
new books in course of preparation, many letters followed the absent minister wherever
he mioht ^o, and the care of his own church and many others, and the many forms
of holy service in which he was interested, left all too little leisure for the weary
brain and the oft-suffering body. But if his holiday was a time of toil, what must
have been the pressure when, for weeks and months at a stretch, it was almost
literally " all work and no play " .''
In describing a typical week's work, a beginning can most appropriately be made
with an account of the preparation for the hallowed engagements of the Sabbath.
Up to six o'clock, every Saturday evening, visitors were welcomed at " Westwood,"
the dear master doing the honours of the garden in such a way that many, with
whom he thus walked and talked, treasure the memory of their visit as a very
precious thing. At the tea-table, the conversation was bright, witty, and always
interesting ; and after the meal was over, an adjournment was made to the study for
family worship, and it was at these seasons that my beloved's prayers were remarkable
for their tender childlikeness, their spiritual pathos, and their intense devotion.
He seemed to come as near to God as a litde child to a loving father, and we were
often moved to tears as he talked thus face to face with his Lord. At six o'clock,
every visitor left, for Mr. Spurgeon would often playfully say, " Now, dear friends, I
must bid you ' Good-bye,' and turn you out of this study ; you know what a number
of chickens I have to scratch for, and I want to give them a good meal to-morrow."
So, with a hearty " God bless you ! " he shook hands with them, and shut himself in
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPH\. 65
to companionship with his God. Th-e inmates of the house went quietly about their
several duties, and a holy silence seemed to brood over the place. What familiar
intercourse with the Saviour he so greatly loved, was then vouchsafed to him, we can
never know, for, even while I write, I hear a whisper, "The place whereon thou
standest is holy ground." No human ear ever heard the mighty pleadings with
God, for himself, and his people, which rose from his study on those solemn
evenings ; no mortal eyes ever beheld him as he' wrestled with the Angel of the
covenant until he prevailed, and came back from his brook Jabbok with the message
he was to deliver in his Master's Name. His grandest and most fruitful sermons
were those which cost him most soul-travail and spiritual anguish ; — not in their
preparation or arrangement, but in his own overwhelming sense of accountability to
God for the souls to whom he had to preach the gospel of salvation by faith in
Jesus Christ. Though he had the gift of utterance above many, preaching was to
him no lip^ht or tritlinor task; his whole . heart was absorbed in it, all his spiritual
force was engaged in it, all the intellectual power, with which God had so richly
endowed him, was pressed into this glorious service, and then laid humbly and
thankfully at the feet of his Lord and Saviour, to be used and blessed by Him
according to His gracious will and purpose.
Sometimes, but not often, he would leave the study for a few moments, to seek
me, and say, with a troubled tone in his dear voice, " Wifey, what shall I do.'* God
has not given me my text yet." I would comfort him as well as I could ; and, after
a little talk, he would return to his work, and wait and watch for the Word to be
given. It was, to me, a cause for peculiar thankfulness when I was able to
suggest to him a passage from which he could preach ; and, afterwards, in referring
to the sermon, he seemed so pleased to say, "You gave me that text."'
Many years ago, on a Friday evening in Conference week, a number of the
ministers met at " Westwood," as was usual with them, to talk over the doings of
the past days, and to enjoy a chat with the President in his own home. During the
evening, it was suggested that each one should explain his method of procedure in
the most important matter of sermon-making ; and the idea found great favour with
the little company. Many of the brethren responded, and told, more or less inter-
estingly, their manner of preparation ; but it was evident that all awaited with
impatience the moment when "the dear Governor" should speak, and reveal to them
the secrets of his Saturday nights' work. Very eager were the faces turned to him
as he sat, blissfully happy in his easy chair, the strain of the week over, and in full
enjoyment of the free and holy fellowship which obtained on such occasions. I
cannot recall his very words, but the purport of them was something like this : —
" Brethren, it is not easy for me to tell you precisely how I make my sermons. All
66
H. SrURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
throuo-h the week I am on the look-out for material that I can use on the Sabbath ;
but the actual work of arranging it, is, necessarily, left until Saturday evening, for
every other moment is fully occupied in the Lord's service. I have often said that
mv crreatest difficulty is to fix my mind upon the particular texts which are to be the
subjects of discourse on the following day * ; or, to speak more correcdy, to
know what topics the Holy Spirit would have me bring before the congregation.
As soon as any passage of Scripture really grips my heart and soul, I concentrate
my whole attention upon it, look at the precise meaning ot the original, closely
examine the context so as to see the special aspect of the text in its surroundings,
and roughly jot down all the thoughts that occur to me concerning the subject,
leaving to a later period the orderly marshalling of them for presentation to my
hearers.
" When I have reached this point, I am often stopped by an obstacle which
is only a trouble to those of us whose sermons are regularly printed. I turn to my
>^/
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FACSIMILE OF INSCRIPTION IN MR. SPURGEON'S STUDY BIBLE.
own Bible, which contains a complete record of all my published discourses ; and.
* Mr. Spurgeon has referred to this matter at length, in Vol. I., pages 206 and 207.
C. H. SPURGEONS AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
67
68 . c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
looking at those I have preached upon the text, I find, perhaps, that the general run
of thought is so similar to that which I have marked out, that I have to abandon
the subject, and seek another. Happily, a text of Scripture is like a diamond with
many facets, which sparkles and flashes whichever way it is held, so that, although I
may have, already printed, several sermons upon a particular passage, there is still a
fresh setting possible for the priceless gem, and I can go forward with m.y work. I
like next to see what others have to say about my text ; and, as a rule, my
experience is that, if its teaching is perfectly plain, the commentators, to a man,
explain it at great length, whereas, with equal unanimity, they studiously avoid or
evade the verses which Peter might have described as ' things hard to be under-
stood.' I am very much obliged to them for leaving me so many nuts to crack ; but
I should have been just as grateful if they had made more use of their own
theological teeth or nut-crackers. However, among the many who have written
upon the Word, I generally find some who can at least help to throw a side light
upon it ; and when I have arrived at that part of my preparation, I am glad to call
my dear wife to my assistance. She reads to me until I get a clear idea of the
whole subject ; and, gradually, I am guided to the best form of outline, which I copy
out, on a half-sheet of notepaper, for use in the pulpit. This relates only to the
morning sermon ; for the evening, I am usually content if I can decide upon the
text, and have a general notion of the lessons to be drawn from it, leaving to
the Lord's-day afternoon the final arrangement of divisions, sub-diA-isions, and
illustrations."
This is, as nearly as I can recollect, the dear preacher's own explanation of his
mode of preparing his discourses ; and when I have called my readers' attention to
the accompanying facsimile of the rough notes and jottings made by him on one
of those memorable Saturday evenings, I may resume my own portion of the narra-
tive. "Will you come and help me to-night, wifey ? " he would say, as if I were
doing him a favour, thouoh the service was one which an ano-el mio-ht have coveted.
I always found, when I went into the study, an easy chair drawn up to the table, by
his side, and a big heap of books piled one upon the other, and opened at the place
where he desired me to read. With those old volumes around him, he was like a
honey-bee amid the flowers ; he seemed to know how to extract and carry oft the
sweet spoils from the most unpromising-looking tome among them.. His ac-
quaintance with them was so familiar and complete, that he could at once place his
hand on any author who had written upon the portion of Scripture which was
engaging his attention ; and I was, in this pleasant fashion, introduced to many of the
Puritan and other divines whom, otherwise, I might not have known. These seasons
were of such special delight to me that I gave a brief account of them in my book,
C. H. SrURGEON's AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 69
^ct€\.
v^„-t<-?-^ fCC'iLiy^S-^ iJXl<^ f^L^,^-»-r^^ U-^ <iCc,</ A- ,
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FACSIMILE CF MR. SPURGEO.n'S NOTES IN PREPARING A SERMON ON LUKE II. lO— 12.
70 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
Ten Years of My Life ; and, as the description then came fresh from my heart, and
warm with the joy of sacred fellowship, I prefer to transcribe it here, rather than
trust to my memory for details : —
" For some time, it has been the dear Pastor's custom, as soon as the text for
the Lord's-day morning service has been given him by the Master, to call me into
the study, and permit me to read the various Commentaries on the subject-matter in
hand. Never was occupation more delightful, instructive, and spiritually helpful ;
my heart has burned within me, as the meaning of some passage of God's Word has
been opened up, and the hidden stores of wisdom and knowledge have been
revealed ; or when the marrow and fatness of a precious promise or doctrine have
been spread like a dainty banquet before my longing eyes. Shall I ever forget
those solemn evenings when the sufferings of the Lord Jesus were the theme of
tearful meditation ;— when, with 'love and grief our hearts dividing,' we followed
Him throughout the night on which He was betrayed, weeping, like the daughters
of Jerusalem, and saying, 'There was never sorrow like unto His sorrow ;' — or the
more rapturous time when the topic for the morrow was to be, ' the exceeding riches
of His grace,' and-,jwe were fairly bewildered by the inexhaustible treasures of love
and mercy to be found in that fair ' land of Havilah. where there is gold ' ? Gracious
hours are those thus spent, and unspeakably precious to my soul ; for, while the
servant of the Lord is reaping the corn of the Kingdom for the longing multitude
who expect to be fed by his hand, I can glean between the sheaves, and gather the
' handfuls of purpose ' which are let fall so lovingly.
" There come delightful pauses in my reading, when the book is laid down, and
I listen to the dear voice of my beloved as he explains what I cannot understand, or
unfolds meanings which I fail to see, often condensing into a few clear, choice
sentences whole pages of those discursive old divines in whom he delights, and
pressing from the gathered thoughts all the richest nectar of their hidden sweetness.
Thus, a poor prisoner hd^s the first sip of the 'wines on the lees, well-refined,' — the
first morsel from the loaves with which the thousands are to be fed and refreshed on
the morrow. How shall I sufficiently thank God for this drink of the brook by the
way, this ' holy place ' within my home where the Lord deigns to meet with me, and
draw out my heart in adoration and worship ? "
Lord's-day morning. — Mr. Spurgeon always set a good example to his people
by being early at the sanctuary. He usually reached the Tabernacle at least half an
hour before the time for commencing the service. During that interval, he attended
to any matters that were of special urgency, selected the hymns that were to be sung,
and arranged with the precentor the tunes best adapted to them ; and the remaining
minutes were spent in prayer with all the deacons and elders who were not already
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 7 1
on duty elsewhere. The dear preacher himself greatly valued that season of
devotion, and his sermons contain many references to the petitions presented by the
brethren in his vestry before joining in the public worship of the great congregation.
During the thirty years that he preached in the beautiful building he had so largely
helped to erect, there was practically no difference in the size of his audience, for the
Tabernacle was always crowded, though sometimes the number of friends unable
to gain admission, when the outer gates were closed, was larger than on other
occasions. Punctually at eleven o'clock, Mr. Spurgeon was seen descending the
steps leading to the platform, followed by the long train of office-bearers, and, after
a brief pause for silent supplication, the service began. There is no necessity to
describe in detail even one of those memorable assemblies. In the course of his
long ministry, many hundreds of thousands of persons, from all parts of the globe,
heard him proclaim that gospel which became to multitudes of them the power of
God unto salvation ; while, happily, by means of the printed sermons, the messages
he delivered continue to reach an ever-widening circle of read^-rs, not only in our
own land and language, but in other climes and in the man) strange tongues into
which the precious discourses have been and still are being translated.
Mr. Spurgeon himself often said that the pulpit was his throne, and that,
when preaching, he envied no monarch in all the world, nor felt the slightest desire
to exchange places with any man upon the face of the earth. Yet was there, even
to him, an inner shrine — the very holy of holies, — which was more sacred still.
Many times he has testified that, when leading the great congregation in prayer, he
has been so rapt in adoration, and so completely absorbed in the supplication or
thanksgiving he has been presenting, that he has quite forgotten all his
surroundings, and has felt even a measure ot regret, upon closing his petition, and
opening his eyes, to find that he was still in the fiesh, in the company of men of like
passions with himself, instead of being in the immediate presence of the Most High,
sharing in the higher worship of the holy angels and the spirits of just men made
perfect. Mr. D. L. Moody must have been very deeply in sympathy with Mr.
Spurgeon upon this matter, for he declared that, greatly as he had been blessed
every time he heard the Pastor preach, he had been even more impressed as he had
heard him pray. Other notable servants of Christ have borne a similar testimony.
The service being ended,; — if it was the second Sabbath in the month, the
Pastor joined the large company of communicants who usually filled the spacious
lecture-hall ; and there, around the table of their Lord, another half-hour of
hallowed Christian fellowship was enjoyed, completing and consummating the
blessing received in the public assembly. To many of the most earnest workers
of the Tabernacle Church, the morning was the only time when they could meet
72 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
with their brethren and sisters in Christ in their own house of prayer ; for the after-
noon and evening- were devoted to Sunday-school and mission work, open-air
preaching, or the many forms of Christian service in which they were engaged.
The Pastor constantly referred to this happy arrangement ; and urged others of the
members to adopt the same method of both getting good and doing good, as it would
help to develop their own gifts and graces, and it would also make the more room .
for the unconverted who desired to come to hear the Word at night.
Each Sabbath, except the second, the ordinance of the Lord's supper was
observed at the close of the evening service, — the first Lord's-day evening in each
month being the time for the great communion in the Tabernacle, when the area and
the larger part of the first gallery were reserved for communicants, and many
hundreds of spectators were able to remain in other parts of the building. It was a
most impressive scene, — sublime in its simplicity, — and those who have ever taken
part in it can never forget it. Mr. Spurgeon had long held and taught that the
apostolic precedents all appeared to indicate that the celebration of the sacred supper
should take place each Lord's-day, and, therefore, whether at home or abroad, he
always attended the communion every Sabbath if it was possible, and he often bore
his willing witness that the frequent participation in the holy feast increased rather
than diminished its value as a constant reminder of Him who said to His disciples,
" This do in remembrance of Me."
On every Sabbath morning in the month, except the second, there was usually
a long procession of friends from the country, or from foreign lands, waiting tor just
a shake of the hand and a hearty greeting from the Pastor ; and it was interesting to
notice how quickly he recognized those whom he had seen before, even if years had
elapsed since they last met. All through the summer season, some hundreds of
visitors from the United States helped, at each service, to swell the contingents trom
other parts ; and most of them afterwards sought to secure a personal interview with
the great preacher to whom they had been listening. Among them were usually
some of the most noted of the American ministers of various denominations, to whom
a hearty invitation was given to take part in the evening service, or the prayer-
meeting the next night. Mr. Spurgeon loved to quote what one of these brethren
said to him: — "Well, Brother Spurgeon, I was here tea years ago, and heard you
preach, and I find that you have not altered your doctrine in the least. You stand
to-day exacdy where you stood then." "Yes," replied the Pastor, " and if you come
again in another ten years, you will, by the grace of God, find me still preaching the
very same gospel, unless the Lord has, in the meantime, called me home." Among
the very special friends, from across the Atlantic, were such divines as Dr. John
Hall, Dr. W. M. Taylor, Dr. Cuyler, Dr. Armitage, Dr. MacArthur, Dr. Lorimer,
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. J T,
and Dr. H. L. Wayland ; and they were sure to be invited to call, during the
week, at the Pastor's home, and some of them had the still grreater delieht of
spending a quiet day with him in the country, when that rare privilege was possible.
Others, at mutually-convenient times, visited the Orphanage, and the rest of the
Institutions, under his guidance, and thus they heard from his own lips the charming
story of how the Lord had led him and blessed him in connection with all the
different branches of his service.
The informal reception being over at last, the Pastor was able to leave, — unless,
as not seldom happened, some poor trembling soul was waiting in the hope of having
a word or two of cheer and direction from him, or one of the earnest workers,
always on the watch 'for anxious enquirers, came forward, with radiant face, bringing
one or another who had sought and found the Saviour either during or since the
service. While Mr. Spurgeon was residing at " Helensburgh House," he was able to
return home to dinner on the Lord's-day ; but, after removing to " Westwood," he
soon found that the distance was too great, so he remained for the afternoon within
easy reach of the Tabernacle, with friends who were only too glad to minister in any
way to the comfort and refreshing of the one who had been so greatly blessed to
them. Sometimes, there was a sick member whom the Pastor felt that he must visit
after dinner ; otherwise, he had an hour or so of rest and Christian conversation
before retiring, at about four o'clock, for the preparation of his evening discourse.
Some, who were very little children then, can probably remember the injunction
given to them on such occasions, "You must be very quiet, for Mr. Spurgeon is
getting his sermon." Ere he was summoned to tea. as a rule, the brief notes which
he was going to use in the pulpit were duly arranged. The evening sermon was
usually shorter than the one delivered in the morning, and somewhat more
evangelistic, in order to be specially adapted to the larger number of casual
worshippers who might then be present. Yet, often, that order was changed ; and
the morning discourse more nearly resembled an earnest evangelist's address, while
the sermon in the evening was a closely-reasoned exposition of the doctrines ot
grace, which again and again led to the conversion of more sinners than did some ot
the appeals directly addressed to them, and which seemed as if they must reach the
hearers' hearts.
For some years, once a quarter, the Tabernacle was thrown open, on the Lord's-
day evening, to anybody who liked to come, the members of the church and
congregation being asked to stay away for that night. It is not many preachers who
could make such an experiment, but it was crowned with abundant success from the
first. Mr. Spurgeon said, afterwards, that his regular hearers had so loyally
complied with his request that they should worship elsewhere for that one occasion^
74 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
that, in addition to the seat-stewards and other workers who were present, he
could not recognize half-a-dozen persons in the whole assembly of five or six
thousand people. The discourses delivered to such a promiscuous audience
were, naturally, evangelistic, and many were brought to the Lord through these
special services.
Before the evening worship, on ordinary Sabbaths, the Pastor often saw an
enquirer, or a candidate for church-fellowship, who found it difficult to get to the
Tabernacle during the week ; and, after preaching, except on communion nights,
however weary he might be, he was never too tired to point a poor sinner to the
Saviour, and to act the part of the true shepherd of souls to those who were seeking
entrance into the fold. By the time he reached his home, he had certainly "earned
a night's repose ; " yet his day's labour was not always finished even then ; for, if he
was going to preach, a long way in the country, on the morrow, he was obliged to
start at once revising the report of the discourse which he had delivered in the
morning. That, however, was quite an exceptional arrangement; and, as a general
rule, his first work, every Monday, was the revision of the Lord's-day morning's
sermon.
This was always a labour of love, yet it was a labour ; and it is not surprising
that, during a very severe illness, when his friends induced him to see an eminent
phy3ician, the doctor urged and almost ordered him to abandon this heavy task so
soon after the great strain of the Sabbath services. But the Pastor knew that,
to delay the publication even for a week, would materially aftect the circulation ; and
he also said that, if he was to continue his eifts to the Lord's cause on the scale
to which he had been accustomed, he must keep all his literary work up to the
highest mark, and he could not bear the thought of lessening the help that he saw
to be required in so many different directions. He used also playfully to say that
the earth itself would cease to revolve if the sermon did not come out every
Thursday morning ; and, in advising the students occasionally to follow his early
example, and to write out their discourses in full, — but not to read or recite them, —
he told them that the revision of his sermons for the press gave him all the benefits
that other preachers might derive from writing theirs.
As soon as the messenger brought the reporter's manuscript, Mr. Spurgeon
glanced at the number of folios, — to see whether the discourse was longer or shorter
than usual, so that he might judge whether he had to lengthen or to reduce it
in order that it might, when printed, fill the requisite space, — twelve octavo pages ; —
and at once began revising it. T\\q. facsimile, on the opposite page, will show how
carefully and thoroughly this part of his work was done ; it will also have, to many
readers, a peculiarly pathetic interest from the fact that it formed part of the last
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
75
LA
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(See Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, No, 2, 241,. page 57.)
FACSIMILE OF MR. SPURGEONS REVISION OF SERMON MANUSCRIPT.
76 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
sermon he ever corrected, and that, while writing- in it about the glories of Heaven,
he was describing what he was himself to witness on the very day that the discourse
was to be read, — the never-to-be-forgotten January 31, 1892.
After Mr. Spurgeon had made the alterations which he deemed advisable, Mr.
Keys, who sat on his left-hand in the study, was entrusted with the duty of verifying
quotations, and seeing that the punctuation and other minor matters were all in
order. Then, when about a third of the manuscript was ready, the' messenger
started off with it to the printers, returning for a second supply, and sometimes even
for a third if the work of revision was at all delayed,
(As this chapter mentions the reporting of Mr. Spurgeon's sermons, it may be of
interest to insert what Mr. T. A. Reed said of him in his lecture on " Speaking and
Speakers from a Shorthand Writer's Point of View:" — "When a speaker has a
distinct articulation combined with a clear strong voice, the reporter who has to
follow him is in Elysium ; — that is, if the utterance is not too rapid, or the style of
composition too difficult. The combination, however, is rare. It has a very striking
example in Mr. Spurgeon, who, without apparent effort, makes himself distinctly
heard at the farthest end of the Metropolitan Tabernacle. To a clear, ringing,
musical voice, he adds an almost perfect articulation. Canon Liddon is another
illustration of the kind of elocution I have been speaking of. Preaching under the
dome of St. Paul's, his voice, clear and rich, penetrates the most distant aisles of the
great cathedral, where the tones ot an ordinary speaker would die away unheard,
save as faint reverberations. Canon Farrar also has an excellent voice, but it is
not so melodious as either Mr. Spurgeon's or Canon Liddon's. . . .
"The average rate of public speaking is about 120 words a minute. Some
speakers vary greatly in their speech, not only on different occasions, but in the
course of the same speech. I have, tor example, a memorandum of a sermon by
Mr. Spurgeon, showing that, during the first ten minutes, he spoke at the rate of
123 words a minute ; the second ten minutes, 132 ; the third ten minutes, 128 ; the
fourth ten minutes, 155 ; and the remaining nine minutes, 162 ; giving an average of
about 140 words a minute. Another sermon shows an average of 125 words a
minute, — namely, the first ten minutes, 119; the second ten minutes, 118; the third
ten minutes, 139 ; and the remaining sixteen minutes, 126. Taking the average of a
number of sermons, his rate may be reckoned to be nearly 140 words a minute.")
CHAPTER LXXXIX,
a CgpiCHl Wind's WinXk (Continued).
HERE was a little breathing-space for the busy toiler after the boy
was sent away with the first portion of the sermon manuscript ; but,
usually, other work at once claimed the Pastor's attention. On his
right-hand, as represented in the view here given, his private
secretary, Mr. J. W. Harrald, had been busy opening the morning's
letters, and arranging those that required immediate answers. It
there were any that he knew would be specially cheering, they were always placed
C. H. SPURGEON AND HIS PRIVATE SECRETARY IN THE STUDV AT "WESTWOOD.'
yS c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
where they would at once catch the eye of "the dear Governor. ' This was always
the case with large and unexpected donations for the Lord's work under his care, —
such as a cheque for /500, which came as a substantial token of a father's gratitude
for Mr. Spurgeon's efforts to be the means of blessing to the gentleman's son
at Mentone. Sometimes, there were anonymous letters, — complaining, or abusive,
or even blasphemous, — and it was with peculiar satisfaction that they were prevented
from ever wounding the beloved servant of the Lord for whom they were intended
by those who wrote them. The Pastor occasionally dictated replies to a few of the
letters before continuing his sermon-revising ; but, more often, with his own hand,,
he wrote the answers in full, for he never spared himself if he could give greater
pleasure to others. In later years, as the number of donors to the various
Institutions increased so rapidly, he was obliged to have a set of receipts litho-
o-raphed in facsimile; but, even when using these, he added a few words which
crready enhanced their value in the opinion of those who received them. He found
it necessary also to have a considerable variety of lithographed letters prepared,,
ready to send to applicants for admission to the College and Orphanage, or persons,
seekino- situations, asking him to read manuscripts, or to write the Prefaces for new
books, or to do any of the thousand and one things by which so many people sought
to steal away his precious moments, and at the same time to augment the revenue
of the Post Office.
It was usually far into the afternoon before the last folio of the sermon was
reached, and the messenger was able to start with it to the printing-office. Then
there were more letters to be answered, possibly books to be reviewed, magazine
proofs to be read, or other literary work to be advanced to the next stage ; and it
was with the utmost difficulty that even a few minutes could be secured for a quiet
walk in the lovely garden that, all day long, seemed to be inviting the ceaseless
worker to come and admire its many charms. He could hear the voice of duty
callino- him in another direction, and soon it was time to get ready to start for the
Tabernacle.
The clock in the illustration opposite shows that, when the photograph was
taken, the Pastor had arranged to be at Newington at half-past five, either meeting
the elders, and considering with them the very important matters relating, to the
church's spiritual state which specially came under their notice, or presiding at the
first part of a church-meeting, which often lasted throughout the whole evening,
and was mainly occupied with the delightful business of receiving new members.
As seven o'clock approached, he left the meeting in the charge of his brother, or
one of the deacons or elders, that he might be at liberty to begin the prayer-
meeting at the appointed hour. Sometimes, if he had engagements which would
prevent him from being at the Tabernacle on Tuesday or Wednesday, he would get
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
79
his sermon-revision completed before, dinner, and, directly afterwards, go up to see
enquirers and candidates, — a congenial but exhausting form of service which often
continued right up to the hour ot prayer.
READY TO START FOR THE TABERNACLE.
On certain special Mondays in the year, the annual meetings of some of the
smaller Societies were held, and on those occasions Mr. Spurgeon was at the
lecture-hall in time to give out the "grace before tea." His presence was greatly
prized by the earnest and energetic sisters who carried on the various works ot
charity and beneficence ; and they were much encouraged by his hearty words of
cheer, and by the financial help which always accompanied them. It was really
surprising to notice, year after year, how much he varied his addresses at these
gatherings, for the audience mainly consisted of the same persons each time. The
three principal Societies were the Poor Ministers' Clothing Society, the Ladies'
Maternal Society, and the Ladies' Benevolent Society, — or, as they were sometimes
humorously described, the big box Society, the little box Society, and the Christmas
So
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
box Society, only that the bounty of the third was bestowed all the year round, as
well as at Christmas time, when there was an extra manifestation of generosity.
The clear Pastor found a constant theme for merriment in the Reports presented at
these meetings. At one time, the ladies recorded that so many " cases " had been
relieved ; and when he pointed out objections to that term, they substituted
"objects" with no better success; but the climax was reached when it was
announced. that so many "sheets, blankets, pillow-cases, and othei^ garments" had
been given away during the year ! Such harmless fun brightened up the
proceedings that might otherwise have become monotonous, and it was perhaps
indulged in on purpose to show the good sisters how to associate as much cheerful-
ness as possible with work that must often have sorely depressed their spirits as they
heard of the poverty among ministers of the gospel and other tried children of God.
THE LOWER PLATFORM METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, ARRANGED I-OR THE PRAYER-MEETING.
A little before seven o'clock, the happy season of talk was brought to a close, a
brief prayer for a blessing on the work and workers followed, and then the whole
company ascended to the Tabernacle for the prayer-meetmg. All who are tamiliar
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography. ' 8 1
with Mr. Spurgeon's writings, know that he regarded the prayer-meeting as the
thermometer of the church ; and, judging by that test, the spiritual temperature of the
large community under his charge stood very high. Not that he could ever induce
all the members to be regularly present on the Monday night ; but, for many years,
the numbers attending filled a large portion of the area and first gallery, and the
world-wide testimony was that the meeting was altogether unique, the only one that
at all approached it being Pastor Archibald G. Brown's Saturday night prayer-
meeting at' the East London Tabernacle. Nor was it remarkable simply for its size,
but the whole spirit of the gathering made it a source of peculiar helpfulness to all
who were in constant attendance, while occasional visitors carried away with them
even to distant lands influences and impulses which they never wished to lose or to
forget. Many years ago, Mr. Spurgeon gave, in The Szvord and the Trowel,
detailed reports of these hallowed evenings, in the hope that the record might be
useful in awakening new interest in what he always regarded as the most important
meeting of the week. He often said that it was not surprising if churches did
not prosper, when they regarded the prayer-meeting as of so little value that one
evening in the week was made to suffice for a feeble combination of service and
prayer-meeting.
The gatherings at the Tabernacle on Monday nights were constantly varied.
Usually, some of " our own men " labouring in the country or abroad were present,
and took part, while missionaries going out to China, or North Africa, or other parts
■of the foreign field, or returning home -on furlough, helped to add to the spiritual
profit of the proceedings. The Pastor always gave one or more brief addresses,
and never allowed the interest to flag; and, all too soon, half-past eight arrived, and
the meeting had to be concluded, for many of the workers had other prayer-
meetings or services following closely upon that one. ' - '
Mr. Spurgeon's day's work was not yet complete, for various visitors were
waiting for an interview ; and, with them, some candidates or enquirers needed and
secured a few precious minutes, — the conversation and prayer at such times being
something to be remembered with gratitude as long as they lived. On some
Monday nights, an extra service was squeezed in ; and, leaving the Tabernacle a
little before eight o'clock, the Pastor preached at Christ Church, Upton Chapel,
Walworth Road Chapel, or some other neighbouring place of worship ; or spoke at
some special local gathering, such as a meeting at the Newington Vestry Hall on
behalf of the Hospital Sunday Fund. When, at last, he was really en route for
home, his first question was, — " Has the sermon come?" and the second, — "What
is the length of it?" If the reply was, "Just right," it was joyfully received, for the
labour of adding or cutting out any made the task of revising the proof still more
arduous ; and, if a distant preaching engagement had to be fulfilled the next day,
F 6
82 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
the revision was obliged to be completed that night, or very early in the morning.
On one occasion, when the London Baptist Association Committee met at "West-
wood " for breakfast and business, it transpired that their host had taken time by
the forelock, and begun his day's work at four o'clock.
Ordinarily, the correction of the proof of the sermon was completed by about
eleven o'clock on Tuesday morning, leaving a couple of hours for replying to letters,
and attending to the most pressing literary work. When there were only four
Thursdays in the month, an extra sermon was required to make the usual number
for the monthly part, and that entailed heavy labour. The discourses available for
this purpose were the shorter ones delivered on the Sabbath and Thursday
evenings ; and, as a rule, ' two or three pages had to be added to them. The
facsimile on the opposite page is a good example of the method adopted in
lengthening the sermon which had been set up from the reporter's transcript,
unrevised, and it is specially suitable to the present volume as it contains a striking
passage in the dear preacher's autobiography.
Tuesday afternoon, with rare excep-tions, was devoted to the truly pastoral and
important work of seeing candidates and enquirers at the T^ibernacle ; and in no
part of his service was Mr. Spurgeon more happy and more completely at home.
On reaching his vestry, at three o'clock, he always found some of his elders already
at their post ; and usually they had, by that time, conversed with the first arrivals,
and given them the cards which were to introduce them to the Pastor. If* he
was satisfied with the person's own testimony, he put the name of the friend
upon the list of those to be proposed for church-fellowship, and indicated the
elder or deacon to be appointed as visitor, to make the necessary enquiries before
the applicant could be admitted to baptism and membership. In the course of
three or four hours, twenty, thirty, or even forty individuals were thus seen ; and
anyone who has had much experience in such service knows how exhausting it
is. Sometimes, the number was smaller, or it was made up with those who
came about other matters. These were seen by Mr. Harrald, or the elders ; and
interviews with the Pastor were arranged if they were deemed advisable. At five
o'clock, a brief interval was secured for tea ; and, during that half-hour, the Pastor
compared notes with his helpers concerning those with whom he had conversed,
and related specially interesting incidents which some of the candidates had
described to him. Then he returned to the happy task, and kept on as long
as any were waiting ; and, often, as the crowning of his day's labour, he went
down to the lecture-hall, to preside at the annual meeting of one or other of the
Tabernacle Societies, such as the Sunday-school, the Almshouses Day-schools>
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
83
,1/ Ji
~ti&^ ffisLj^
Td of Uie Lord 'j
TP no ttoHere. They/carried a burden. Ttoee
uamej^ tho Lojd aai^enl t&e«^_dare no^
L^
prophets of old \
ho^fifeiti speak in Q^r ^^ — - ^...^^
with their ^©#ic They havo a burden to f!arq[^— " The rrurden <
.e word-ef^tfie Lord," I am often astounded at liie^TTfty^an^whjch
ho profess t©'oe the servants of Qod make U^ht of ^eir wortr-
I tead of oft©'*lio said, " I got on very weU for a year or two in my
pulpit, for my great, uncle had left me a large store of majiuscripts,
rV&a-d ^0ffi." The Lord have mercy on h-ia g^^ty soul' < Aiiother^
to get on well with his preaching_becau8e he .piiys so^uch, a
to 4fik_bookseller, and is^upplied ~wTtt>QH?gula]k/nanuscnpt V tn f^^^
i /I have seen the things/ What must God", fhinlr of sit&h \ '^
-us these 'f Sat^n the old umes, those whom Ood sent didnotX •J'- .
rrow their messages They had their message dirtwtly from God \'^,^ / jt^^-" d^-—-* A*— ^
himself, and that message was weighty— so weighty that they called y^ ^--^^.^^^ ^rCl^ -C < «5^^
it " the burden of the Lord " He that does not find hie ministry a ]^\/^ /_-,v3/^ ^ ^-^--'^L.
'borden now wiU hnd it a burden hereafter which will sink him lower *^ yl "^ * -^-•s-.^^^-'^ ^ ^ y^ ^
than the lowest hell. A ministry that uever burdens the heartland ^^
the conscience in this Ufe.will be like a millstone about 1
5n the world to come Thi/ servants of God mean busine
not talk for talkmg's sake, Thev are not sent into the world to~tickie .,^ ^ /^ ».«--.^
men's ear«. nor to- -ffi:alre a display Of eiocution^ *^ They have a some- "^ ^ ' / / /■_ ^^
• thing to say l^ - -t-sses upon ihem^l^they must sayit. They lawwi^- ^ ^* ^J\ ^*y «^yi— -^^^-y/
,-Airlnward hre, and the» must g**4rvent \
the Lord IS as tire -lo^pir booes, consuming 1
tht servants of God, The servants of God
J»«gi^th» hunlpntorf t.hn 1 inwiy^ |
something t
It 13 not froth itiid
and pretty things,
' iL ever th?re
the
n^Qk
*vj^ey d(K
Id toTickie/^ -
,.£^ rt**.^^^ '
/L^^
y
L^,
>^
th.
_ - -~y ^ -^ .,^ ^rtiage, _
^Tid QT&wry, and all thati^^&ere is^weigKt"
' were men m this world whc ought to speak
men U»^ speak tor Gody j^fttklT there ly nothmg
aay,>hen <>od never cOuimiSbioned tjiro^ If thf
— *y'ea, if their measagf be not of th^-tfr&t a,n'
whv>N,La^tttfi nam I nf < Iwii^ a*" "fl^py profe^
ruLmflrrUy a
that ijic- bo2>*HW'"^tHe burde
Jt-tfiV^^u ni/( let me be
'*erv
burd
Qts, yho.are.
pijTtajice/?
last impuH^nce,-V^^.
D th
■^urTtKe true fservant of (iod has no light W'
ne that baaanah^g to L-arry, but hi
f the word of the Li^d ' "
nderstood at thp beginning God's
with his word, ^cheHru^Uy carry
t for all the^ world. ~"-Sometim
ght,-to
el-ves,
could gTViJ_
thi8^-dp>^V"But~lireDTfEjnt of Jonah, and what happ
--when he ran awaj-to-T-atatu^ , and/whales ur*:' scarcer now than-tfeo3L__4
were then, and 1 do oot aoeni. inclinedTo~rinrth»t~piak-._ *^ 1 stick to ^
my business, and keep to the message of^Twrd ; fur one might not +»«-.
brought to land quite so safely as the runaway prophet was^ God's
servants would d»t nothing else but bear this bucd+Ha, even- li they-
o»tt4^ make a change «, Remember hojv Wtlham Carey, speaking
oneybf his sons says^.^^-Eoor^P^sTias drivelled into an ambassado
" missiouar}' once, and he was emphjy^d b/ the British
Government afi an :inihaaHaHorv*^lnvt. i > wlirii his father thought^
I . U* Ij -"-^"^^^.j-^^^ •<? *^'^ ytKl^ know% we get tempted, when thingb do nut go n
k^ ' J ^ Ll^'^'f^ ^^t^^ ' l^^^^y ^^i" iV ^^«Q &QViH5 of you do not behave youn
L^.ul'^ -^v-r-'^^, ^^tiuj4a-ggL5 little out of order, I sav to myself, "1 wish-I
M^'
■_ J-^t^a «•*-*'*•*— -y^
^ :
promotion^ "-gsof- Felix has drivelled
It would be a drivelhng down, indeed, from bearing the burden of
the Lord, if one were to woa? a crowu, nr jEiia fimt in^a oongtc »l
The burden which the true preachffl- of God pearsja for God, and
Christ's behali, and for the aTiilt of otkeri. He lias a natural
instinct which makes him care for the souls of others, and his anxiety
18 that none should penah|''~fciEe~^tbe Christ who longed to save, mo
does the true Maiachi, or meBsenger of God, go forth with tlus as tua
happy, joyful, cheerfully-borne burden/^fetyet, «pk_a burden. i<
i that I .10) ^oiug to speak to-night. Thwrw nifty- tj>*
uTT
I'irtig "lit --f Th^ t " 'tKe burden of the 'word of tho.^
hy iBjt a burde^':' Well, iirst.^^tCArsE fT is the Wori?
hat w^^feach is only of man, we may preaeh-as-iie
nt* "burden • it^ but if this Book be inspired— a
^nJy Godj-'ifJesus Christ be God incarnate, if there be
his precious blood — 'then there is a great
t ik^ wvA-u >i-i«_^ fj*^.^„
-jff^'
-■ 4^
i-'^^dLa-t^
x^refch. ' Xt hence "becomes a bupdoo \.if^nm.r^__^_ —
Aid, first, If becumea a burden in tlio receptionont: f— <l«-iiQl
think that ajry man mma^^I ever preach the gospel anght until he haa
had It bpr^ into hw own dOuU " You cannot preach conviction of sin
FACSIMILE OF CORRECTED PROOF OF LENGTHE^NED SERMON.
(No. 2,114, pages 613 — 15.)
84 ' c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
the Evangelists' Association, the Country Mission, the Loan Tract Society, or
the Spurg-eon's Sermons' Tract Society. He frequently said that the number
of Institutions, Societies, Missions, and Sunday-schools connected with the
Tabernacle was so large that it would have been possible to arrang-e for an
anniversary of one of them every week in the year ! The secretaries or leaders
of many of these works always secured his presence and help at their meeting's,
if possible ; and he used to describe the lecture-hall as his happy hunting-ground
where he found recruits for the College. Among the most successful ministers
.and missionaries, at home and abroad at the present time, are several who
tremblingly spoke before him, for the first time, at these week-night gatherings.
Some of them might scarcely recognize themselves by the description the beloved
President gave of them then, as he pictured the "fledglings, with their callow wings,
trying to soar away to the empyrean, but falling down flop into the arena ! "
Sometimes, instead' of meeting with a few hundreds of friends in the lecture-
hall, the Pastor presided over many thousands in the Tabernacle. One such
gathering took place on the night when the Jubilee Singers sang, and, by that
one effort, the sum of ^220 was added to the funds of the Fisk University ;
another notable meeting was held when our own black brethren, Johnson and
Richardson, and their wives, had their farewell before proceeding to Africa, " the
land of their fathers ; " — and an equally memorable occasion was the evening
when Mr. John B. Cough gave one of his marvellous oratorical displays on
behalf of the Pastors' College, and, in recognition of his kindness, the Pastor
presented to him a complete set of his sermons. At other times, Mr. Spurgeon
was not the chairman of the meeting ; but he helped to contribute to the success
of the proceedings by delivering an earnest address in aid of the Primitive
Methodist Missionary Society, the Liberation Society, or some other great
public movement for which the Tabernacle had been lent, and for which his
personal advocacy was also desired.
Wednesday was the only possible time available as a mid-week Sabbath ; and
whenever it could be secured for rest, its benefits were immediately manifest.
Each year, on his return from Mentone, Mr. Spurgeon told his secretary to keep
his diary clear of all engagements on that day ; but, alas ! soon one, and then
another, and yet others, had to be given up in response to the importunate appeals
to which the self-sacrificing preacher had not the heart to say, " No," although
he knew that the inevitable result would be a breakdown in health, and the
cancelline for a time of all arrangements for extra services. Then, when he
appeared to have recovered, the same process would be repeated, with an exactly
similar sequel ; but the requests for sermons, speeches, and lectures poured in
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography. 85
upon him even during his worst illnesses, and it always pained him when he felt
that he must refuse them.
But there were some red-letter days when, with a cong-enial companion, he
would go off for a long drive into the country, as described in Vol, III., Chapter
LXXVI. Yet, even then, before he started in the morning, or after he returned
at night, he often accomplished what most other people would have considered
enough for a hard day's work. When there were only two or three hours available
for a drive, a favourite route was over the Shirley Hills, and through Addington
Park. The Archbishop of Canterbury kindly sent, each year, a card giving the
right of free passage through his spacious grounds, and he, on several occasions,
expressed his wish to have the pleasure of entertaining Mr. Spurgeon at Addington.
On the acceptance of one invitation to lunch. Dr. Benson greeted his guest very
heartily, and, pointing to his butler and footman, said, " There are two members
of your congregation, Mr. Spurgeon. When I am in residence at Lambeth, they
always go to the Tabernacle. I don't blame them, for I would do the same
myself if I had the chance. When your coachman gets round to the st-ables,
he will recognize another Tabernacle attendant ; and I can truly say that they
are all a credit to the instruction they receive from you." This testimony was
very pleasing to the dear Pastor, and he was further cheered by hearing of others
on the estate who were readers of his sermons. The two preachers spent a very
enjoyable time together ; and, later on, during Mr. Spurgeon's long illness, one
of the letters which gave him great comfort was written by the Primate. In his
friendly intercourse with the Tabernacle Pastor, Dr. Benson followed in the
footsteps of one of his own predecessors, for, during the time that the bill for
the abolition of church rates was before Parliament, Archbishop Tait frequently
consulted Mr. Spurgeon upon several of the details of the measure.
Sometimes, instead of going through Addington Park, Mr. Spurgeon paid
a visit to the Bishop of Rochester at Selsdon Park. A very intimate friendship
existed between Bishop Thorold and the Pastor, and they enjoyed many happy
hours together in the Selsdon home and garden. Usually, each year, as the
time approached for the preparation of the addresses to be delivered in connection
with his episcopal visitation, the Bishop invited Mr. Spurgeon to spend a long
quiet day with him in prayer and conversation upon such matters as would help
to put him in a right state of heart for the responsible task before him. On several
occasions, he also visited his friend at " Westwood ; " and the season of spiritual
fellowship in the study must have been mutually profitable, for, when it was over,
and the visitor was gone, Mr. Spurgeon always remarked, " Oh, we have had
such a delightful time of talk and prayer together ! " During the Pastor's great
illness, the Bishop called more than once to express his deep personal sympathy
86 c. II. sturgeon's autobiography.
with the beloved sufferer, and his wife; and he wrote or sent many times to make
tender, loving enquiries concerning the invalid.
One letter of Bishop Thorold's, relating to Mr. Spurgeon's visit to him, has a
very special interest now that both of them have entered into "the glory." When
the Pastor published Tlie Chtc of the Maze, he sent a copy to his friend, who at
once wrote : —
" Selsdon Park,
" Croydon,
"Aug.. 31, 1885.
" My Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
"Your remarkable book has reached me, with its affectionate inscription,
which I prize even more.
" Perhaps, some day, in- the City of our King, we may look back at our stroll
under the Selsdon elms, and our prayer in the little chapel, and feel them to have
been an earnest of the glory at hand.
" Ever your brother in Jesus Christ,
"A. W. ROFFEN."
Thursday morning was principally devoted to letter-writing and literary work in
general. Mr. Spurgeon's position naturally brought him into correspondence with
vast numbers of people all over the world ; and he willingly wrote those thousands
of letters which are now of almost priceless value to their possessors. Yet he often
felt that he could have employed his time to far better purpose. Again and again,
he sorrowfully said, " I am only a poor clerk, driving the pen hour alter hour ; here
is another whole morning gone, and nothing done but letters, letters, letters!"
When reminded of the joy and comfort he was ministering to so many troubled
hearts by that very drudgery, he agreed that it was work for the Lord as trul}^ as
the preaching in which he so much more delighted. Still, we often felt that quite an
unnecessary addition to his already too-heavy load was made by the thoughtless and
often frivolous communications to which he was expected personally to reply. Per-
haps someone says, " Then he should not have replied to them." Yes, probably any-
body but C. H. Spurgeon would have thrown many of them, unanswered, into the
waste-paper basket ; but his kind heart prompted him ever to minister to the
pleasure and protit of other people, whatever the cost to himself might be. Yet
even he sometimes mildly protested against the unreasonableness of his corre-
spondents, as the accompanying paragraph testifies : —
" No sooner was it known that I was going to Scotland for rest, than I received
requests for sermons, not only from a large number of Scotch towns, and from
places on each of the three lines of railway, but I was entreated just to make a few
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
87
hours' stay, and preach in North Wales, as also on the Cumberland coast, which, as
everybody knows, are both on the road to Scotland it you choose to make them so !
How many pence I have been fined, in the Ibrm of postage for replies to these
insanely kind demands, I will not calculate ; but it is rather too absurd. I am told,
over and over again, that I could stop two hours, and go on by the next train ; and
this being done at a dozen places, when should I reach Scotland.'* This, too, when
a man is out lor a holiday !
"Alas! the holiday itself had to be postponed for a while, through continued
ill-health. Now, it may seem a very simple thing to write to these good people,
and say, 'No;' but it is not so. It pains me to refuse an)'one ; and to decline to
preach is so contrary to all my heart's promptings, that I had rather be flogged
than feel compelled to do it."
A FAVOURITE RETREAT.
If Mr. Spurgeon's correspondence was not quite as burdensome as usual, or if
he had literary work that had to be done, — when the weather permitted, he liked to
retire to this favourite retreat, where the hours fled all too swiftlv as he wrote his
88 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
comment on the Psalms, or some of the other books that now remain as permanent
memorials of his studious and industrious life.
After dinner, the Pastor's definite preparation for the evening service began,
though the subject had probably been, as he often said, "simmering" in his mind all
the morning. The Saturday evening process was to a great extent repeated, but
one of his secretaries had the privilege of looking up anything that might help him
to get the true meaning of his text. His private study, commonly called "the den,"
became, on such occasions, his place lor secret retirement and prayer ; and very
joyously he generally came forth, carrying in his hand his brief pulpit-notes ;
though, at other times, the message he was to deliver only came to him just, in time.
For many years, Mr. Spurgeon had, on Thursday evening, in the Tabernacle
lecture-hall, from six o'clock till nearly seven, what he termed "The Pastor's
prayer-meeting." This was an extra gathering, specially convened for the purpose
of pleading for a blessing upon the Word he was about to preach ; and most
refreshing and helpful it always proved both to himself and the people. From
the New Park Street days, he had made little or no difference between the services
on the Lord's-day and on week-nights ; and, throughout the whole course of his
ministry, the Thursday evening worship afforded an opportunity for the attendance
of many Christian workers of all denominations, who were not able to be present
on the Sabbath ; and, among them, were numerous Church of England clergymen
and Nonconformist ministers. At the close, several of these hearers desired a few
minutes' conversation with the preacher, so that it was late before he could get
away ; and then, though not weary of his work, he was certainly weary in it.
On Friday morning, the usual routine of answering correspondence had, to
some extent, to give way to the President's more urgent work of preparation for
his talk to the students of the College. He regarded this part of his service as
so important that he devoted all his powers of heart and mind to it, and it was
indeed a rich store of mental and spiritual instruction that he carried up, each week,
to his "school of the prophets." Hundreds of "our own men" have testified that,
greatly as they profited by the rest of their College curriculum, Mr. Spurgeon's
Friday afternoon class was tar beyond everything else in its abiding influence upon
their life and ministry. With such a responsive and appreciative audience, he was
at his very best ; and both students and ministers have often declared that, not
even in his most brilliant pulpit utterances, has he ever excelled, or even equalled,
what it was their delight to hear from his lips in those never-to-be-forgotten days.
From three till about five o'clock, there was a continuous stream of wit and wisdom,
counsel and warning, exhortation and doctrine, all converging to the one end of
c. H. spurgeon's. autobiography. 89
helping the men before him to become good ministers of Jesus Christ. Then,
when the class was dismissed, another hour, or more, was unorudoinoly devoted
to interviews with any of the brethren who desired personally to consult the
President ; and that this privilege was highly prized was very evident from the
way in which it was exercised.
Now and then, the Friday afternoon was made even more memorable by a
special sermon to the students, at the close of which the Lord's supper was observed,
the whole service being peculiarly helpful to the spiritual life of the brethren. On
other occasions, students from Harley House, or Regent's Park, or Cheshunt
College paid a fraternal visit to Newington ; and, in due course, the Pastors' College
men returned the visit. At such times, Presidents, tutors, and students vied with
one another in making their guests feel at home, and in conveying to them all
possible pleasure and profit.
Perhaps, between six and seven o'clock, Mr. Spurgeon was free to s'tart for
home ; but, more likely, there was another anniversary meeting — possibly, of the
Evening Classes connected with the College, — at which he had promised to preside ;
or there was some mission-hall, at which he had engaged to preach or speak ; or
there was a sick or dying member of the church to whom he had sent word
that he would call on his way back from the College. It was utterly impossible
for him to make any systematic pastoral visitation of his great flock ; — that work
was undertaken by the elders ; — but he found many opportunities of visiting his
members ; and his sermons contain frequent references to the triumphant death-
bed scenes that he had witnessed. He could not often conduct funeral services,
yet there were some cases in which he felt bound to make an exception to his
usual rule, as he did also in the matter of weddings. The Sword and the Trozuel''^
has recorded typical instances of how thoroughly, on such occasions, he sorrowed
with those who wept, and rejoiced with those who were full of happiness. xA.dd
to all this, the constant interruptions from callers, and the many minor worries
to which every public man is subject, and readers may well wonder when
Mr. Spurgeon could find time for reading, and study, and all the work he
constantly accomplished ! If they had known how much he was continually
doing, they might have marvelled even more than they did. Surely, there never
was a busier life than his ; not an atom more of sacred service could have been
crowded into it.
Saturday morning was the time for the Pastor and his private secretary to clear
off, as far as possible, any arrears of work that had been accumulating durino- the
* See the Volume for 1S94, page 109, " Mr. Spurgeon at a Funeral ; " and page 157, " Mr. Spurgeon at a Wedding."
90 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
week. The huge pile of letters was again attacked ; various financial matters were
settled, and cheques despatched to chapel-building ministers or those engaged in
pioneer and mission work, or needing some special assistance in their labour for the
Lord. The secretary also then reported the result of interviews with students, and
various officials and workers in connection with the different Institutions, and
received instructions as to the replies to be given to their requests, or with regard to
various matters tending to the general efficiency of the whole work. It was usual,
often, on that morning, for the President to see some of the applicants for admission
to the College, or to examine the papers of others, and to dictate the letters
conveying his decision, or making further enquiries if there was a doubt eithfer with
regard to acceptance or rejection. Brethren just leaving for the foreign mission field,
or some other distant sphere of service, were glad of the opportunity of a personal
farewell, and of the tender, touching prayer, and tokens of practical sympathy, with
which they were speeded on their way. Then there were magazine articles to be
written or revised, Almanacks to be prepared, books to be read and reviewed, or sent
to some of the brethren who helped (and still help) in that department of The
Sword and the Trowel; and, by the time the gong sounded' for dinner, the Pastor
was often heard to say, "Well, we have got through a good morning's work, even if
there is not much to show for it."
The greater part of the afternoon was spent in the garden, if the weather was
favourable ; and one of the few luxuries the dear master of " Westwood " enjoyed
was to stroll down to the most secluded portion of the grounds, and to rest awhile in
the summerhouse, to which he gave the singularly appropriate title, "Out of the
world." Here, with his wife, or some choice friend, the precious minutes quickly
passed ; and, by-and-by, other visitors arrived, for a cheery chat, and a peep at the
numerous interesting things that were to be seen. It is needless to give the names
of the many who shared in the delights of those happy afternoons ; most of Mr.
Spurgeon's special ministerial and other friends and acquaintances were included
amonost them. One visitor who was always welcome was the good Earl of Shaftes-
bury. His life also was a very busy one, so he could not often come ; but, every
now and then, when he was more than usually depressed and troubled by the aspect
of affairs, religiously and socially, he found it a relief to have a talk with his Baptist
friend, who largely shared his views concerning the state of the Church in general,
but who also saw some signs of better and brighter days which the venerable noble-
man had not perceived. The peer and the Pastor had such stores of good stories
to tell, that the time rapidly and pleasantly passed, and they parted with the hope of
meeting again on earth, and with the brighter hope of the reunion in Heaven, where
there would be no parting for ever.
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY
91
^ _ , .... '' ,.' ,..-.." '[ ■ " "
"' ~"
^//^ ^^-„^^.
On several occasions, after the Earl had paid a visit to " Westwood," Mr.
Spurgeon instructed his secretary to insert in the scrapbook, then being compiled,
a photograph or engraving of his lordship, and he himself briefly recorded the tact
that his venerable friend had again been to see him. The following page contains a
reproduction of one of the best of these portraits, — taken by Messrs. Russell and Co.
when the Earl attained his eightieth year, — with -^ facsi})nle of the inscription written
on the back of it. On his part, Earl Shaftesbury preserved, in his diary and letters,
many records of those enjoyable Saturday afternoons. The following entry in his
diary probably refers to the very visit mentioned by Mr. Spurgeon : — "July 10, 1881.
— Drove to 'Westwood' to see my friend Spurgeon. He is well, thank God, and
admirably lodged. His place is lovely. His wife's health, too, is improved by
change of residence. It is pleasant and encouraging to visit such men, and find
them still full of perseverance, faith, and joy in the service of our blessed Lord."
THE RT. HON. THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURY, K.G.
i^it't-^pC. <^-^-e.-^xiJ\.i-^ Ce.^^p^ <it^ -i-cj^CC ^x-tJ^-t/^^
(^^■€-^:^,/U}->'.^L^e^
///y
7 , ^
CHAPTER XC.
Mttx% on l^xiMt anb l^iMt affairs, 1856— 189D.
In reviewing the Letters of William Cowper, Mr. Spurgeon wrote : — " We cannot write letters now-
adays, but must be content to send mere notes and memoranda. When letters were reasonably few,
and cost a shilling each, men had the time to write well, and thought it worth their while to do so.
Now that the penny post is a public man's sorest trial, the shorter we can make our epistles, the better.
How we wish some of our correspondents would believe this, especially those young ladies who cross
their letters ! We never waste a moment in trying to read what people think to be unworthy of a fresh
sheet of paper ; crossed letters make us cross, and we drop them into the waste-paper basket. By the
way, what right has a man to expect an answer to a letter if he does not enclose a stamp? It is a dead
robbery to make some of us spend scores of pounds in a year on postage."
HE preceding chapter contains so many references to Mr.
- Spurgeon's correspondence that it may appropriately be followed
by some specimens of the letters which he wrote at various periods
during- his long ministry. Many have already been published in
the previous volumes of this work, where they seemed needful to
the consecutiveness of the narrative, and others must be reserved
for later portions of this volume. The present selection is intended to give some
idea of the extent and variety of the subjects upon which the beloved Pastor's
correspondents wrote to him, and of the replies which he sent to their communica-
tions. Some of the letters have already appeared in print ; but most ot them have
been copied from the originals which have been kindly forwarded by their possessors
specially with a view to their inclusion in the Autobiography, while others are
reproduced from the copies of replies which Mr. Spurgeon had himself preserved.
In classifying the correspondence, a beginning is made with —
Letters to Personal Friends.
A gentleman in Glasgow greatly values the original of this note, which was
written by Mr. Spurgeon the day following that on which he had preached at the
Surrey Gardens Music Hall for the first time after the great catastrophe ; it was
addressed to Rev. John Anderson, of Helensburgh, who had sent a generous
contribution to the Tabernacle Building Fund from himself and his friends : —
" 3, Bengal Place,
" New Kent Road,
" Monday, 24th Nov. (1856.)
" My Very Dear Friend,
" I have received your munificent donation, and return you very hearty
thanks, and beg you to express my gratitude to all those who have contributed.
94 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
" Yesterday, the Lord was with me mightily ; not a dog moved his tono-ue.
But, oh, the griefs I have endured ! God has borne me up, or I had been over-
whelmed.
" How hell has howled, but how Heaven will triumph ! How is the work in
Helensburgh } I hope the shout of a King" is with you.
" Dear wife and I very often talk of our dear Anderson. You are very near to
our hearts.
" Our boys are well, so is ' beloved Apphia.' Give our kind regards to all
friends, and accept our true love yourself.
" I am,
" Yours ever,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
The following note, and reply, will serve as specimens of the correspondence
between Mr. Ruskin and Mr. Spurgeon in the days long past : —
" Denmark Hill,
" Camberwell,
" 25th Nov., 1862.
" My Dear Friend,
" I want a chat with you. Is it possible to get it, — quiedy, — and how,
and where, and when .'* I'll come to you, — or you shall come here, — or whatever
you like. I am in England only for ten days, — being too much disgusted with your
goings on — yours as much as everybody else's — to be able to exist among you any
longer. But I want to say ' Good-bye ' before going to my den in the Alps,
" Ever with sincerest remembrances to Mrs. Spurgeon,
" Affectionately yours.
" J. Ruskin."
" Clapham,
"Nov. 26, 1862.
" My Dear Mr. Ruskin,
" I thought you had cast me off ; but I perceive that you let me alone
when all is right, and only look me up when you are getting disgusted with me.
May that disgust increase if it shall bring me oftener into your company !
" I shall be delighted to see you to-morrow, here, at any time from 10 to 12 if
this will suit you.
" I wish / had a den in the Alps to go to ; but it is ot no use for me to grow
surly, for I am compelled to live amongst you sinners, and however disgusted I may
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography. 95
get with you all, I must put up with you, for neither Nature nor Providence will
afford a den for me.
" Yours ever most truly and affectionately,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Nothing- ever gave Mr. Spurgeon greater delight than the glad tidings that his
message had been blessed to the salvation of souls, or the strengthening of saints.
To a friend in Dublin, who sent him such good news, he replied on February i8,
iS6S :—
" It cheers me very greatly to know that my sermons are the food of any of
God's people. For such a joy, I would cheerfully have suffered much ; and, lo ! it
comes without it. I can bear my willing testimony to the faithfulness of the Lord.
My sermons are a great drain upon me mentally, but still the springs are not dried.
In times of great exhaustion, fresh streams bubble up. In pecuniary matters, we
are often tried ; but never come to want, and we never shall while Jehovah lives."
Just at that time, the Pastor had the further trial of the very serious illness of
Mrs. Spurgeon. In answer to a letter informing him that a special prayer-meeting
had been held at the Baptist Chapel, Thetford, to plead for her recovery, he wrote : —
" Clapham,
"Feb. 29, 1868.
" My Dear Mr. Welton,
"Thanks a thousand times! Prayers are enriching things; you make
me wealthy. May you and your people long enjoy prosperity !
" Yours ever truly,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
To an afflicted lady in Bristol, Mr. Spurgeon thus revealed an interesting
circumstance in connection with the origin of his sermon entitled " Faith's
Ultimatum " : —
** Nia-htinofale Lane,
" Clapham,
"July 23, 1S75.
" My Dear Friend,
"Your kind oift has been unacknowledged because I wanted to write to
you myself, and my hand has been bad with rheumatic gout so as to make me quite
an invalid these last two weeks, and keeping me from my preaching most of the
time. I thank you most heartily, and the more because of your very kind words.
96 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
May you have daily strength for your great affliction, and may your heart exult more
and more in the Lord ! Pray for my poor wife, who suffers ever.
" I think my sermon upon 'Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him,' will
be to your mind. It was squeezed out of me by great pain.
" Yours in much sympathy,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
When arrangements were being made for the sale of the old Devonshire
Square Chapel, which was so close to Petticoat Lane that " Babel-like sounds, and
perfumes not at all ambrosial, mingled with the worship, and even other things
appeared on the scene," Mr. Spurgeon wrote : — -
" Clapham,
"Jan. 8.
" My Dear Sir,
" I congratulate you on the prospect of an emigration from the worse than
Egypt of Devonshire Square. Whatever your chapel may have been in ages past, it
has become of late atmospherically and entomologically horrible ; the din outside, on
the Lord's-day, in which Jews and Gentiles emulate each other in row-making, fits
your house to be a den in Babylon rather than a temple upon Zion. That a church
and congregation should have gathered so long, in such a spot, is a miracle of grace
on God's part, and of inertness on the part of man. May you get away from the
rags and the racket, and may you and your friends enjoy prosperity abundantly 1
" Yours very truly,
"C. H. Spurgeon."
The following note was written to the late Henry Richard, Esq., M.P.,
secretary of the Peace Society, in reply to an invitation to speak at the annual
meeting of that body : —
" Nightingale Lane,
" Clapham,
"April 24.
" Dear Sir,
" I really cannot do more. I am sick and sorry and jaded. Let me
alone. 'A merciful man, etc., .' I would be -sX peace.
" Yours truly,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
In December, 1879, when Mr. Spurgeon was very ill at Mentone, he was greatly
cheered by the receipt of a cablegram, from the New York Baptist Ministers'
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography. 97
Conference, containing the following message : — " Prayers. Sympathy. 2 Corin-
thians i. 2, 7. Potter, Secretary." The telegram was followed by a long loving
letter ; but, before it arrived, Mr. Spurgeon had already replied thus : —
" To Rev. D. C. Potter,
" Secretary, New York Baptist Ministers' Conference,
" Dear Sir,
" I thank the Conference very heartily and humbly. I am honoured by
such a kind deed, and I am not the less comforted. What greater joy can I have
from my fellow-men than to be remembered by them in the hour of afifliction
with prayers and sympathies? God bless you, my brethren, and reward you a
thousandfold for this loving remembrance of one who has no other right to it but
that which arises out of oneness of heart in our one Lord, one faith, and one
baptism ! By such brotherly kindness, may all American and English baptized
churches be welded into a more complete unity, so that fraternal love may abound !
May the Lord bless and prosper you among the nation to which you belong, and
may the truth more and more abundantly prevail with you and with us ! I
am recovering slowly from a very severe illness, and your telegram has acted both as
a tonic and as a cordial to me. Again I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
" Yours most gratefully,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
On April 5, 1881, the annual butchers' festival was held at the Tabernacle.
Mr. Spurgeon was unable to be present, but he wrote the following letter to
Mr. Henry Varley, to be read at the meeting : —
" Westwood,
"April 5, 1881.
" Dear Friend,
" A month ago I was just recovering, and I took five ser\-ices in the
week with great delight. The immediate result was another illness. This time I
am weaker, and I have the same work before me. The friends beg me not to
attempt so much, and my own judgment tells me that they are right. I must
therefore be away from the butchers' festival, though with great regret. I never
promised to be there. Someone did for me, and I don't believe in those proxy
promises. You are a host in yourself. Tell the true blues to be true blue, and
follow the best of leaders, — namely, the Lord Jesus. May they all be pure and
upright, so as to be Christians indeed ! They will do well to be moderate in all
things ; better if they become total abstainers from strong drink ; and best of all if
they have new hearts and are believers in Jesus. I am sure we shall always be glad
to find house-room for them so long as you and the master-butchers find the solids
G4
98 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography,
for filling up the empties. I wish every man would get a day's march nearer
Heaven on this occasion. May God's blessing be with you and all your hearers this
night !
" Yours heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
After Rev. Joseph Cook, of Boston, U.S.A., had been lecturing in the United
Kingdom tor about six months, qu'^:stions were raised in various quarters concerning
his orthodoxy. The Earl of Shaftesbury was one of those who were in doubt with
regard to his theological teaching, but Mr. Spurgeon very earnestly pleaded the
cause of the eminent lecturer from across the Atlantic. The following is one of two
letters which he wrote to the venerable Earl upon this matter : —
" Westwood,
" Beulah Hill,
" Upper Norwood,
"May II, 1881. '
" My Dear Friend,
" I agree with you in heart, and soul, and faith ; and so also does Joseph
Cook. His expressions may not be clear, but his meaning is identical with our own.
There is, however, little hope of my leading you to think so, now that Mr.
has cast his lurid light upon the lecturer's words ; and therefore I will not enter into
a discussion.
"Your action is wise, namely, to refrain from endorsing that which you do not
approve of. But, I pray you, believe that, as I know Mr. Cook, and am as sure of
his orthodoxy as I am ot my own, I cannot desert him, or, retract the commendations
which I am sure that he deserves ; but I am none the less one with you. If you
would only see Mr. Cook, you would form a different estimate of him ; but, anyhow,
I shall not love or admire you one atom the less whatever you do.
" I am, perhaps, more lenient than you are because I never was able to be quite
so guarded a speaker as you are. I think no man speaks so much as you do with
so few blunders, but impetuous people get into muddles. I quite agree with
Mr. Foster's estimate of you as certain to have been Premier had you been
ambitious in that direction, for you very seldom allow your speech to get cloudy, or
to run over to the other side when emphasizing this ; — but pray do not expect such
accuracy of us all.
" Here is a man who, with tears, denies the slightest complicity with
heterodoxy, and says that he lives and feeds on the old-fashioned truth so dear
to us ; — well, — I believe what he says, and wish that half the ' orthodox ' were
as orthodox as he is.
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 99
" The Lord ever bless and sustain you, my dear friend, and spare you to
us many years to come ! I wish, when these meetings are over, you would come
and see —
" Your Lordship's most hearty friend,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
To this letter, Lord Shaftesbury replied as follows : —
" 24, Grosvenor Square, W., \
"May 14, ]88i.
" My Dear Friend,
" If Joseph Cook stands high in your esteem, it is, I am confident,
because you decidedly, and conscientiously believe that he holds, in all truth and
earnestness, the great vital doctrines of the Christian Faith, — those doctrines
indispensably necessary to salvation, and which have been the life and rule of your
ministerial services. In these have been your joy, and your strength. Signal as are
the talents that God has bestowed upon you, they would, without preaching Christ
in all His majestic simplicity, have availed you nothing to comfort and instruct the
hearts of thousands.
" Such being the case, who would expect you to recede, by one hair's breadth,
unless you carried your convictions with you? Certainly not I.
" I am deeply gratified by your kind letter, and all its candid and friendly
expressions. You must not admit any abatement of your regard and love for me.
Mine towards you can never be lessened, while you stand up so vigorously, so
devotedly, so exclusively for our blessed Lord.
" Ever yours most truly,
" Shaftesbury."
" P.S. — I will pay you a visit as soon as possible."
Mr. Cook was intensely grateful to Mr. Spurgeon for his powerful advocacy,
even if it did not convince the venerable Earl. It is somewhat singular that, just as
this chapter is being compiled, it is reported that, in answer to a statement that
Mr. (now Dr.) Joseph Cook had joined the Spiritualists, he wrote, " Spiritualism is
Potiphar's wife ; my name is Joseph." His reply seems to indicate that efforts had
been made to entangle him, but that he had resisted them as successfully as his
ancient namesake repelled his tempter.
Mr. Spurgeon was always on very friendly terms with his neighbour, Rev.
Burman Cassin, M.A., rector of St. George-the-Martyr, Southwark. On the twenty-
fifth anniversary of Mr. Cassin's ordination, a testimonial was presented to him ;
and the Pastor, although away from home, wrote concerning it : —
lOO C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
" Mentone,
"Dec. 17, 1883.
" Dear Mr. Olney,
" I had no idea that the presentation to the Rev. Burman Cassin was
coming off so soon. Had I been at home, I was to have attended the meeting, for
he is a brother for whom my heart always has a warm place. I wish him every
blessinof, and, above all things, abundant grace to win multitudes of souls for Christ
out of his immense parish. His true piety, his loving manners, and his catholic
spirit, make me esteem him most highly. Had I been able to attend, I should have
added ^5 to the testimonial, as a very inadequate but very honest token of my
affection for him. As I am so far away, please be my substitute, and give the
amount on my behalf You can trust me till I return.
" Yours ever heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon.''
The following letter greatly interested Mr. Spurgeon : —
"Christ Church Vicarage,
" Rotherhithe,
"August 16, 1884.
" Mr. Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" I have, for many years, been an admiring reader of your sermons, and
have often felt that I would write and tell you how useful I have found them
personally and ministerially. I am specially urged to write to-day for the following
reason. My mother, a clergyman's widow, died on May 19, this year, at Boston,
Lincolnshire, aged 87. She used to take your sermons weekly, read them carefully,
have them bound handsomely at the end of the year, and present the bound volume
to me, year by year, on my birthday, Aug. 16.
"The Vol. for 1883 — her last gift — was ready bound, and /have to-day written
my name in it, as she cannot. Praying that the Lord may give you health and
strength, continued usefulness, and increasing holiness, and asking your pardon,
if intrusive,
" Yours very sincerely,
" H. C. MiTCHINSON,
"Vicar of Christ Church, Rotherhithe."
To this letter, Mr. Spurgeon replied thus : —
" Westwood,
"Aug, 19, 1884.
" Dear Friend,
"It is a great pleasure to be enabled to give seed to the sower. The
C. II. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. lOI
Lord accept my thanks for many such sweet messages as yours to cheer me ! The
Lord also be with you in all your ministry, and give you an abundant harvest !
" I congratulate you upon having a mother in Heaven. Mine .still lingers in
much suffering ; yours is promoted to felicity. We will follow on. I have paused
to pray for you. Please do the like for me, tor I need it every day.
" Yours most heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Several letters of condolence are given in the latter part of the next chapter,
so one of congratulation may be inserted here. The following cheery note was
sent to Rev. E. W. Matthews, secretary of the British and Foreign Sailors' Society,
in May, 1885, in reply to a communication from him announcing the arrival of a
little daughter, and sending contributions tor the Orphanage from all his children : —
" Dear Friend,
" Matthews are so good that there can hardly be too many of them if
they all turn out to be evangelists. God bless the parents more and more, and
cause the children to be real blessings to them in later years ! That you should bid
your children send me a crown each, suggests that I hold a fourfold monarchy in
your esteem ; but, alas ! I need a Priest and a King more than ever. I rejoice that
our Lord Jesus is growing more precious to me in that capacity. May these four
Matthews all be crowned with lovingkindness and tender mercies !
" Yours very heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
For many years, on his summer visits to Scotland, Mr. Spurgeon was the guest
of Mr. James Duncan, at " Benmore," the beautiful mansion depicted in Vol. III.,
page 362. The following letter was written to Mr. Duncan's sister, in reply to one
from her, mentioning various places and persons known to the Pastor, and saying that,
as she had heard that he was overworking himself, she advised him to study what
the sixth commandment required, " all lawful endeavours to preserve our own life ": —
" Westvvood,
"Aug. 26, 1SS5.
" Dear Mrs. Moubray,
" I heartily thank you for the proverbs, some of which I have used. I
think I am well acquainted with the book you have culled from ; indeed, I would go
far to see a proverb-book which I do not know.
" Happy woman to be sailing over the fair seas, and gazing upon those glorious
hills ! I tind abundance to do all day, and every day ; but, as the Lord blesses the
work, I am not able to weary of it.
I02 C. H. SPURGEON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
" I saw Mr. Duncan on Sunday, much to my joy. He is, indeed, a kind and
tender friend, and his sister is lil>:e unto him. God bless both !
" I trust Mr. McKercher will get better, and be restored to you. Truly good
men are scarcer than they used to be. The world has gone after the idols of
modern thought, and those of us who do not thus wander are esteemed to be ' old
fogies.'
" A woman rose in the Tabernacle, last Sunday, just as I entered, and began to
talk about the sixth commandment ! Of course, I pricked up my ears, and wondered
whether it was a lady from Strone House ! She did not get far before the attendants
carried her off. I have not asked her name, but it looks very suspicious. Were
you up in London last Sunday ?
" I am studying that commandment, and I begin to think that I must work
much harder, for fear somebody should be killed, spiritually, by my failure to preach
in season and out of season.
" My very kindest regards and heartiest thanks to you.
" Yours ever gratefully,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Correspondents often asked Mr. Spurgeon to tell them the meaning of difficult
passages of Scripture. In reply to the enquiry of a generous helper, in Scodand,
concerning Hebrews vi. 4 — 6, the Pastor wrote :—
" Westwood,
"March 15, 1887.
" Dear Friend,
" I have always taught that, if the Divine life could entirely die out, there
would be no second quickening. We can be born again, but not again and again.
If the salt could lose its savour, it would be a hopeless case. From which I argue
that, as no believer in Christ is in a hopeless case, no man has utterly lost the life of
God alter once receiving it.
" The wilful return to sin would be fatal.
"In each passage quoted, the evil supposed is also denied. (See Hebrews vi. 9,
and X. 39.)
One great means of securing final perseverance is the knowledge that we
cannot go in and out of Christ at pleasure ; if we could utterly quit Him, there
could be no possibility of renewal. (Hebrews vi. 4.) Therefore we are bound to
hold on even to the end.
" My wonder is how, in the teeth of these texts, Arminians believe that men can
lose the Divine life and receive it again. No words can be clearer than those which
describe this as 'impossible.'
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAniY. IO3
" I have sent a catalogue with sermons marked which may help you. Write
me whenever you like, only excuse me if I am brief.
" Yours heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
For several years, Mr. Spurgeon preached the anniversary sermon at Christ
Church, Westminster Bridge Road, more than once going there for the purpose after
conducting his own Monday evening prayer-meeting. In 1888, he was too unwell
to 0-0, so he wrote the following letter to Mr. Newman Hall, who read it at the
public meeting : —
" Westwood,
"July 4, 1888.
" My Dear Friend,
" I have only just heard that to-day is your anniversary. I congratulate
you, and I pray that you may have a right good day. If I had been well enough, I
would have accepted your invitation, you may be quite sure. I thank you and your
friends for many kindnesses received by way of help in my hour of sickness. The
Lord bless yoii who preached, and the people who spared you ! In these days,
we are two of the old school. Our experience has taught us that, both for
conversion and edification, the doctrine of Christ crucified is all-sufficient. A
childlike faith in the atoning sacrifice is the foundation for the purest and noblest of
characters. As the hammer comes down on the anvil ever with the same ring, so
will we preach Christ, Christ, Christ, and nothing else but Christ.
" Our friends leave us for the suburbs, but I trust the Lord will raise up around
us another generation of faithful men. God bless those attached brethren who stick
to us, and bear the brunt of the battle with us ! I feel a deep gratitude to all such,
both at the Tabernacle and at Christ Church. To you I desire continued health and
joyous communion with God.
"Yours very heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Dr. H. L. Wayland, of Philadelphia, was frequently in correspondence with
Mr. and Mrs. Spurgeon. On more than one occasion, he sent contributions for the
Lord's work under their care. In reply to one of these communications, the Pastor
wrote : —
" Westwood,
" June, 1889.
" My Dear Friend,
Your letter to Mrs. Spurgeon has greatly cheered her. . . . She is to
I04 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
write to the kind donor of the draft, and I am to thank you. Wisdom ordains
division of labour. My dear wife does not improve in health. I don't think she
could improve in any other way.
" I hold on, and stand fast. Despite what your correspondents may tell you, I
know of a surety that there is an awful twist in the thoughts of the many, and error
bears the bell. Yet I am not doubtful of the ultimate result.
" I see that the Lord loves you and yours greatly, for He tries you. These are
His love-tokens. I have many, and I prize them. Your love is sweet to me.
" Yours most heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
In August, 1S89, Mr. S. G. Richardson, the Sheffield Master Cuder-elect, sent
to Mr. Spurgeon, through a mutual friend, a very cordial invitation to attend his
banquet. This elicited the following answer : —
" Westwood,
"August 23, 1889.
" My Dear Friend,
" You are most kind, and so is the Master Cutler, but I am so taken up
with work that I must not leave home. I rejoice in the kindness and courtesy of
Mr. Richardson, and I beg you to thank him heartily. Really, I am not a man for a
feast, even if I could come. Our Lord Mayor pressed me to meet the Archbishops
and Bi-shops at a banquet, but I could not bring my soul to it, — I mean, the banquet.
I had no objection to the Bishops. Last week, I had tea at the Archbishop's, and
luncheon with the Bishop of Rochester ; but the banquet was out of my line. I am
best at work, — my own work. Still, God bless you, and the Master Cutler, and all
the good folk !
" Yours heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
The invitation to tea at the Archbishop's was written by Mrs. Benson, and was
as follows : —
"Addington Park,
"Croydon,
"Aug. 10, '89.
" My Dear Sir,
"We have just come back to Addington, where we shall be for a few
days before going abroad ; and I am writing to claim your kind promise to come and
see us here. Might we hope that you will come to afternoon tea on Thursday next
at 5 o'clock? It will be a great pleasure to see you. I fear Mrs. Spurgeon is not
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. I05
Strong enough for so long a drive ; otherwise, it would have given us great pleasure
if she would accompany you.
" Believe me,
" My dear sir,
" Yours very truly,
" Mary Benson."
"The Rev. C. H. Spurgeon."
The day mentioned not being convenient to Mr. Spurgeon, because of the
Tabernacle service, another afternoon was fixed, and that happened to be in the
same week in which he had promised to take luncheon with the Bishop of Rochester,
who wrote, a few days afterwards : —
" Selsdon Park,
" Croydon,
" August 23, 1889.
" My Dear Friend,
" I thank you exceedingly for your valued gift. The Salt-cclla7's shall
have an opportunity of sparkling in my sermons, and I shall begin to read The
Cheque Book of the. Bank of Faith to-day.
"You may like to see a very friendly though not a gushing criticism on your
sermons in The Gziai'dian of last Wednesday, — the leading High Church journal.
"We all have a most charming impression of your visit. Next time you come,
I shall try to pick your brains about preaching.
" Most truly yours,
"A. W. ROFFEN."
The following letter — the last one written by Mr. Spurgeon to his old friend,
Mr. J. S. Watts, of Cambridge, has a specially pathetic interest now : —
" Westwood,
" May 29, 1S90.
" Dear Friend,
" How are you ? I am myself below par in health ; but exceeding full of
the Lord's goodness. I have seen sixty-nine candidates for church-fellowship this
month. Long hours It has cost me to converse with the many, and select these ;
but it is glorious harvest work. Everything prospers more and more. But I
get faint at times in body. I must rest more. On June 19, I shall be fifty-six,
and my years have been such as produce great wear and tear. Yet I shall soon
pick up again.
" I shall send you my College Reports for the last two years, that you may see
how, in temporal supplies, we know no lack. My liberation from questionable
io6 c. u. spurgeon's autobiography.
associations has brought around me a host of the Lord's own who have a like
love to His inspired Word and immutable truth. Divinely has He sustained me,
and He ivill. Peace be unto you !
" Yours ever lovingly,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
One of the many loving notes preserved by a former member of the Tabernacle
Church is interesting because of the Biblical names borne by himself and several of
his relatives who are mentioned in it : —
" Westwood,
" Aug. 30, 1890.
" Dear Mr. Keevil,
"What a patriarchal family you are! Here is Joshua sending me a
letter from Noah, containing news about Enoch, and Job and his girls ! It makes
me feel proud to be in such ancient company. God bless you all !
" I will send Noah a receipt. Like his namesake, he seems to have had enough
rain. Well, we shall get home. You are a good soul. May the Lord give you the
double portion, as he did Job I
" Yours heartily ever,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
While Mr. Spurgeon was ill at Mentone, in December, 1S90, he received a
letter from his old and faithful friend, Dr. D. A. Doudney, Editor of The Gospel
Magazine, who said : — " I had such a spirit of holy wrestling at the footstool of
mercy, on your behalf, in the wakefulness of the past night, that I could but cherish
the hope that the Lord was giving you relief" In reply, Mr. Spurgeon wrote : —
'* Mentone,
" Dec. 5, '90.
"Venerated Friend,
" It made my heart leap for joy when I read in your note that you had
liberty in prayer for me. I am recovering. I can hold the pen, as you see. My
hand was puffed up, and, in consequence, like all puffed up things, useless ; but
it is coming to its true form, and I am rallying from the weakness which follows
great pain.
"Of a surety, it is well. I praise God with all my heart for the furnace, the
hammer, and the file. May He bless to you the infirmities of years, and carry you
ever in His bosom !
" Your loving, grateful friend,
"C. H. Spurgeon."
CHAPTER XCT.
Ittttxs m Ipri&att aiib ^Public Mm% {Continued}.
Letters Concerning Legacies.
HE following letter, relating" to an estate of the value of ^5,000,
may be inserted as a specimen of many which Mr. Spurgcon had
to write, on other occasions, with reference to financial matters
about which he ought never to have been troubled. In several
instances, when money was bequeathed to him which he thought
should have gone to the relatives of the testator or testatrix, he
paid it over to them without the least hesitation, and it often grieved him that he
could not do the same with legacies, left to his Institutions, which ought to have
been given to needy relations. In the case here referred to, he had simply to
refuse what he regarded as an unjust and unreasonable demand : —
" Clapham,
" June 13, 1868.
" Dear Sir,
"Although Mr. 's will certainly makes me his residuary legatee
absolutely, he gave the solicitor to understand that he left the money to me because
he was sure I should not appropriate it to myself, but would use it for religious and
charitable purposes. This request he also wrote me, and it was sent by his solicitor.
The Law of Mortmain prevented him from leaving his money as he desired, there-
fore he put it in my hands, very much to my discomfort. I shall not, on any
account, accept a farthing for myself from this estate, but carry out the testator's
known wish.
" I do not consider this to be any barrier to my making awards to claimants
who may have moral claims of a sound character against the estate, for it is not to
my mind to give to religion or charity till justice has been done. Hence I have, to
the best of my judgment, with the kind advice of the executors, met each claim, not
only of a legal, but of a moral kind, and there is now no balance remaining to be
disposed of, or so small as to be not worth mentioning. There will be no more
funds available during the existence of two lives ; and, consequently, the claims of
Mr. and others must wait, even if they can be attended to at any time.
"The executors do not believe in the claims of Mr. ; but they, as gentlemen,
would advise me with impartiality, and if you convince them, you convince me ;
io8 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
only I cannot be expected to disburse money which I have not received, from an
estate with which personally I have no profitable connection, left by an utter
stranger.
" I see no grounds for your severe language towards me ; and as for vour threat
to publish the matter abroad, so far as I am concerned, I neither court nor fear
publicity in any of my actions ; and, in this case, if the simple truth be published, it
will little concern me what the public think of my proceeding. I am the gainer of
much trouble and annoyance by this unhappy legacy, and nothing more.
" Yours truly,
" C. H. Spurgeox."
" P.S. — Please send future letters on this business to the executors."
One of many letters, which had to be written at a later period with reference to
great fortunes said to have been left to Mr. Spurgeon, may also be given : —
" Westwood,
" March 26, 18S4.
*' Dear Sir,
" In speaking of a supposed large fortune left to me, you very wisely say,
'If it is so !' Several times, such rumours have gone abroad ; — much smoke from a
very small fire. In the present case, there may be something ; 'but how little none
can tell' This rumour brings to me begging letters and requests of the most
amazing kind ; and, in a measure, stops supplies for my many enterprises, and so
causes me much trouble. Please, therefore, say in your paper that the laro-e
fortune is a myth. With many thanks for your kind remarks,
" I am,
" Yours in much weakness,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Correspondence re Lectures and Sermons in the United States.
In the year 1873, Mr. Spurgeon, in addressing his church and congregation,
made the following reference to a proposal which he had received : —
" I had a letter from a gentleman well known in America, giving me the offer
of 25,000 dollars for twenty-five lectures. On these terms, the twenty-five nights
would give me ^5,000, and in a hundred nights I should have ^'20,000. Besides
this, I should be allowed to lecture for as many more nights as I chose, so that I
might, in the course of a year, be worth ^40,000, and no doubt the persons who
undertook the arrangement would earn ten times that amount. What do you
suppose was my answer to this offer ? I wrote, ' If you were to multiply it a hundred
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
109
times, and again a hundred times, I should feel it as easy to decline as I do now,
when I say that I cannot cross the ocean to lecture upon any subject whatever. I
am a minister of the gospel, and never lectured for money, and do not intend to do
so now.' "
Although the refusal was so emphatic, other offers continued to come. In 1876,
a paragraph appeared in some American papers stating that " The Rev. Mr.
Spurgeon writes that he will visit the United States in the autumn." This elicited
the following letter : —
"Boston, Mass., U.S.A.,
"Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, "June 22, 1876.
" Dear Sir,
" Is the above paragraph true ? We have tried so long, and so hard, for
so many years, to secure you, that we thought it impossible, and long since gave
up all hope. We are agents (exclusive agents) for all the leading lecturers in
the country, and do nine-tenths of the lecture business of America, and we are
responsible for what we offer. We will give you a thousand dollars in gold for
every lecture you will deliver in America, and pay all your expenses to and from
your home, and place you under the most popular auspices in this country. Will
you come ?
" Yours truly,
"The Redpath Lyceum Bureau."
To this communication, Mr. Spurgeon replied : —
" Clapham,
" London,
"July 6, 1876.
" Gentlemen,
" I cannot imagine how such a paragraph should appear in your papers,
except by deliberate invention of a hard-up Editor, for I never had any idea of
leaving home for America for some time to come. As I said to you before, if I
could come, I am not a lecturer, nor would I receive money for preaching.
"Yours truly,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
In 1878, two other invitations came, the first of which Mr. Spurgeon answered
thus : — " I have not the slightest idea of visiting America. If ever I should do so,
I could not preach or lecture for money. Excellent as your services doubtless are
to those who need them, they could not possibly be needed by me. I should regard
IIO C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
it as an utter prostitution of any gifts I possess if I were, as a servant of God, to use
them to make money for myself in the way in which lecturers very properly do."
The reply to the second request was :^" I am not open to any engagement
either to lecture or to preach in America. I could not consider your offer for a
single moment. I have on several occasions given a positive refusal, and can only
repeat it in the plainest terms. I am not to be hired for any money."
Another effort was made in 1879, when Major Pond was in England with
Dr. Talmage, and the former wrote to Mr. Spurgeon, asking for an interview, and
saying, among other things : — " I want to see the man to whom I would pay the
compliment to offer fifty thousand dollars for speaking fifty nights in my country, and
to my countrymen." To this note, Mr. Spurgeon replied : —
" Nightingale Lane,
" Balham,
" Surrey,
" June 6, 1S79.
" Dear Sir,
" I am not at all afraid of anything you could say by way of tempting me
to preach or lecture for money, for the whole of the United States in bullion would
not lead me to deliver one such lecture. It would only waste your time and mine
for you to see me, though I feel sure that you are one of the pleasantest men upon
the earth. Your good-natured pertinacity is so admirable that I trust you will not
waste it upon an impossible object ; but be content to have my acknowledgment
that, if success could have been achieved, you would have achieved it.
" Yours truly,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
In 1S83, a syndicate in the United States, without even asking for Mr. Spurgeon's
opinion or consent, arranged for the transmission, by telegraph, of his Lord's-day
morning sermons, and their publication on the following day, in a number of papers
in Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and St. Louis, having an aggregate
circulation of a million copies. The experiment was doomed to be a failure, for the
instructions to the English agents were : — " Cable Spurgeon's Sunday morning
sermons, omitting the little words.'' The attempt to insert those words in the report-
received on the other side of the Atlantic produced such a strange result that
Mr. Spurgeon wrote on the first copy he received : — " Sermon a hash, but pretty
well considering the hurry and double transmission to New York, and then to
Cincinnati." In reply to a complaint that the arrangement involved a great increase
in Sabbath labour, the Pastor wrote : —
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. I I I
" Westwood,
"June 8, 1 883.
" Dear Sir,
" It is true that my Sunday morning sermons are taken by the United
States Press Association, and are cabled so as to appear in the papers on Monday
morning. So far as this occasions Sunday work, I regret it ; but I have no more
to do with it than you have. I have never been in any way consulted in the matter,
and so I have not entered into any enquiry as to the labour involved.
" Yours truly,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Only a few weeks elapsed before the Pastor was able to write in The bivord
and the T^-owel : — " The sermons were not long telegraphed to America, so that our
friends who feared that the Sabbath would be desecrated may feel their minds
relieved. We are not sorry ; for the sermons which we saw in the American papers
may have been ours, but they were so battered and disfigured that we would not
have owned them. In the process of transmission, the eggs were broken, and the
very life of them was crushed. We much prefer to revise and publish for ourselves ;
and as these forms of publication"are permanent, their usefulness becomes in the
long run greater than would come of a wide scattering of faulty reports."
Four years later, another attempt was made to arrange for the early publication,
on an extensive scale, of summaries of Mr. Spurgeon's sermons ; but this also failed.
He was unable even to entertain the proposal made to him in the following letter,
for he never knew "ten days in advance" what the subject of his discourse would
be ; otherwise, in this case, there might not have been the same objection as on
the former occasion as the effort need not have involved any increase of Sunday
labour : —
" New York Syndicate Bureau,
" No. I, William Street,
" New York,
" Sept. 20, 1887.
" Rev. C. H. Spurgeon,
" Dear Sir,
" W^e have arrangements about perfected by which we are to publish,
every Monday morning, in all the large cities of this country, a synopsis of the
sermons of six of the leading clergymen here. The idea is, to get advance notes of
the sermons (about ten days in advance), and send them out to our syndicate ol
newspapers. It is necessary to get the matter so far in advance as we have to reach
San Francisco. Those we intend publishing are. Rev. Phillips Brooks, of Boston ;
112 C. H. SPURGEONS AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Dr. lohn Hall. New York ; Dr. Talmage, Brooklyn ; Cardinal Gibbons, Baltimore ;
Rev. John P. Newman, Washington ; and the Most Rev. Archbishop Ryan,
Philadelphia.
" While negotiations have been going on, we have received numerous requests
from our subscribing Editors for a weekly synopsis of your sermon, and thinking
that there might be an inducement in having your congregation increased into the
millions, with the corresponding increase in the beneficial influence of your sermons,
we have thought it wise to approach you on the subject.
" Could you not cable, at our expense, about ten days in advance, the ideas of
vour sermon each week ? The e.xact phraseology is not necessary, as the ideas are
all that are wanted. Cable, say 250 to 300 words. For this courtesy, we would be
pleased to forward, each week, our cheque at the rate of a year. If you think
favourably of the matter, kindly cable the one word ' Yes ' to our registered address,
* Exactness, New York,' and we will write you in regard to any detail that may be
necessary. Hoping that you will render a favourable decision,
" We are,
" Yours very truly,
" Chas. R. Brown, Editor."
Any friends from the United States, who had ever worshipped at the Metro-
politan Tabernacle, and who saw, in The Neiv York Herald, January 9, 1888, the report
of the service in that building the day before, must have been somewhat surprised
at what they read. In the course of a long cablegram purporting to have been
received from the Heralifs London bureau, the correspondent said : — "There were
fully five thousand in the audience to greet the Tabernacle orator on his return from
Mentone. He looked remarkably better than when I interviewed him two months
ago for the Herald on his departure. AfUr a gra^td voluntary from the organ,
during which the congregation silently studied the countenance of the great Baptist
preacher, he and the audience standing, they sang Psalm 103, best known in music
as ' Benedice anima mea.' Then an assistant read the second chapter of the first
Epistle of John, first giving the revisers' head-notes summarizing the contents of the
chapter. After the choir, zvhich is of high repute,, had sung a hymn in which there
zvas a charming contralto solo, Mr. Spurgeon preached from the text : — ' It ye abide
in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done
unto you.' — John xv. 7."
The words printed in italics indicate some of the inaccuracies in these few
sentences. As there was no "organ" or "choir" at the Tabernacle, so there was
neither " voluntary " nor " contralto solo." Mr. Spurgeon himself read and
expounded John xv. i — 8, and also i John ii., so his "assistant" had no opportunity
C. 11. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. II3
of "giving the revisers' head-notes." The text was stated correctly, so the
references to it, and to one of the chapters which were read, must have been
telegraphed, with the number of the Psalm sung ; but the descriptive matter in
the "cablegram " must have been inserted by someone who knew nothing about the
mode of worship adopted at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, however familiar he might
be with the practices prevailing on the other side of the Atlantic.
Consolatory Letters.
Mr. Spurgeon was a true comforter of the suffering and sorrowing ; his
frequent personal afflictions, added to his own sympathetic disposition, made him
"a succourer of many." This cheering and helpful note was written to a lady who
had told him of her many trials : —
" Westwood,
" March 9, '81.
" Dear Friend,
" You seem to me to be in the night school, — by no means pleasant
lessons, few holidays, and no cakes and sugar-sticks ; — but a wise Teacher, and a
guarantee of becoming a well-trained disciple in clue time. This is much better
than to be pampered with joyous excitements, and to be thereby really weakened in
faith. How could you honour Christ, by trusting Him as He is revealed in
Scripture, if you were always having new revelations over and above His Word ?
Too much sight renders faith impossible. A certain measure of darkness is needful
for the full exercise of faith. Be of good comfort ; for He who has redeemed you
will not lose that which has cost Him so much. I hope you will yet recover
strength. Why, you are only a young girl yet at thirty-seven ! But I know how
the spirits sink, and one feels as old as Methuselah. The Lord be ever your
Comforter !
" Yours, with much to do,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
One of Mr. Spurgeon's dearest and most intimate friends was Mr. William
Higgs, the builder of the Tabernacle, and a deacon of the church worshipping there.
The following extracts from letters to Mrs. Higgs, when her dear husband was
" called home," will show how fully the Pastor sympathized with her and the whole
of the bereaved family : — ■
"Westwood,
" January 3, 1883.
" Dear Friend,
" How I wish that I could come and join you in your grief, even if I
H 4
114 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
could not give you comfort ! But I am too lame to move. Ah, me ! what a blow !
We were all afraid of it, but did not think it would come just now. Doubtless it is
best as it is ; but it is a sharp gash in the heart. He was a dear soul to us all, but
specially to you. I beg the Lord to bear you up under this the heaviest of all trials.
, . . All is well with him. There is our comfort. His pains and wearinesses
are over, and he rests. I will come as soon as I can travel, but this swollen right
foot holds me like a fetter of iron.
" Loving sympathy to every one of you. God bless you !
" Yours ever heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
" Westwood,
" January 6, 1883.
" Dear Mrs. Higgs,
"L and G have now told me all about our dear one's death.
The Lord has dealt well with him. I wonder how he lived so long to cheer us all :
and I feel relieved that he lived no longer, for it would have been great anguish to
him. He has gone at the right time. The Lord will be your comfort and help. I
meant to go to you this morning, but I found my foot would not let me go up
and down steps. It is a double pain to be kept from you and your sorrowing
family. . . . We shall all meet again. . . . Let us bless God. Can we ^.
" Your loving friend,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
When Pastor T. W. Medhurst lost a daughter, Mr. Spurgeon wrote to him : —
"Westwood,
" May 24, 1884.
" Dear Friend,
" May you be sustained under your heavy trial ! Now that you and
your dear companion are most fully realizing the void which is made in your
household, may you find living consolations flowing into your hearts ! ' It is
well,' and faith knows it is so ; and worships the Lord from under the cloud.
How time has flown ! It seems but the other day that you were married ; and
now you are an old father, bereaved of a daughter. Dear Caleb Higgs, too,
is gone home long ago.
" We shall meet above before long. Till then, in our Lord's business we
will find solace, and in Himself delight.
" Yours ever heartily,
"C. H. Spurgeon."
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. II5
The following letter was written to an Oxfordshire clergyman, with whom
Mr. Spurgeon had long been in close personal friendship ; he was always deeply
interested in the open-air services under the oaks on Mr. Abraham's farm (see
Vol. III., page 365), and induced all whom he could influence to be present: —
" West wood,
"June 12, 1884.
" Dear Friend,
"I casually heard from Mr. Abraham that you were ill, but I had no>
idea that it was a serious matter ; but Mr. Rochfort has kindly given me further
news. I feel very sad about It, but I am sure you do not. The loss will be
ours, and Heaven and you will gain.
" Dear loving brother, you have nothing now to do but to go home ; and
what a home ! You will be quite at home where all is love, for you have lived
in that blessed element, and are filled with it. I shall soon come hobbling after
you, and shall find you out. We are bound to gravitate to each other whether
here or in glory. We love the same Lord, and the same blessed truth.
" Mav the everlastino- arms be underneath vou ! I breathe for vou a lovine,
tender prayer, — ' Lord, comfort Thy dear servant, and when he departs, may it be
across a dried-up river into the land of living fountains ! '
" I am fifty next Thursday, and you are near your Jubilee. In this we are
alike; but Jesus is the highest joy. Into the Father's hands I commit you, 'until
the day break, and the shadows flee away.'
"Your loving brother,
" C. H. Spurgeon.'
The good man did not linger long, and in the August number of The Sword
and the Tj'owel Mr. Spurgeon inserted the following note : — -" Our dear brother.
Rev. Thomas Curme, vicar of Sandford, Oxon., has passed to his reward. He
was a sweet Christian, of calm and serene spirit, full of love and humility, yet firm
as a rock in the doctrine of grace. When the denouncer of Baptismal Regeneration
was shunned by many of the clergy, one of his brethren asked Mr. Curme, ' How
can you spend so much time in company with Spurgeon .-^ ' His gentle answer
was, ' It is more wonderful that he should associate with me than that I should
meet with him.' His love to us was wonderful, and constituted one of the joys
of our life. He was beloved of all who knew him, and we were one with him in
the faith which is in Christ Jesus. He passed away full of years, ripe for his rest."
When the mother of one of "our own men" was "called home" just after her
son's recognition service at Luton, Mr. Spurgeon wrote to him from Mentone : —
Il6 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
" Dear Mr. Feltham,
"It is a great sorrow to lose such a mother, but also a great joy to
know it is well with her. She could not have passed away under happier circum-
stances. She must have been glad to see her son so happily settled, and then
gladder still to be with her Lord for ever. No lingering sickness, no fierce pain ;
but gentle dismission, and instant admission into the glory. I envy her as much as
I dare. The Lord be with you and your beloved, and comfort you to the full !
" Your sympathizing friend,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
The "grandmother" so tenderly mentioned in the following letter was, of
course, the Mrs. Bartlett who so long conducted the large Bible-class at the
Tabernacle : —
" Mentone,
" Dec. 14, '87.
" Dear Mr. Bartlett,
" I sorrow with you over the departure of your little Lillie ; but you
will feel that there is honey with the gall. She was a dear child, ready to take
her place with the shining ones. Grandmother will receive her as a messenger
from you.
" May peace and consolation flow into the heart of yourself and wife ! I send
you a little cheque to ease the expense. 1 cannot ease your pain ; but there is
' another Comforter ' who can and will do so. Receive my hearty sympathy. We
are all going the same way. The little one has outrun us ; we shall catch her
up soon.
" Yours very heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon.
When the wife of Dr. S. O. Habershon was " called home," Mr. Spurgeon
wrote to Miss Ada R. Habershon : —
" Westwood,
"April 30, 1889.
" Dear Friend,
" I heard with deep regret of your dear father's loss, — which is your
mother's gain. I do not wonder that the beloved man is not well. It is a crushing
stroke, and he has a tender heart. The Lord Himself sustain him ! The Holy
Ghost Himself has undertaken the office of Comforter because there is such need of
comfort in the tried family, and because it is such work as only God can do
effectually. I commend you to the ' other Comforter.' I could not expect to see
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. ' II7
you at the College supper, but it is very kind of you to write me. You cheer me
much by the reminder of the use of The Cheque Book to the dying one. God be
praised !
" 1 may send you my Christian love in this hour of sorrow, for I feel great
sympathy with you and your father, and a hallowed oneness of heart with you in the
faith of our Lord, and in service for His Name. May a sweet hush fall on your
hearts !
" Yours very truly,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Miss Habershon thus explains the allusion to Mr. Spurgeon's volume, The
Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith : — " My dear mother read it daily ; and, during
her last illness, it was read to her as long as she could bear it. The last portion
my dear father read to her was on April 8,— she fell asleep on the 13th, — and the
words were singularly appropriate : — ' If there is no more work for you to do for
your Master, it cannot distress you that He is about to take you home.'"
A few months later, Dr. Habershon also received the summons, " Come up
higher." During his last illness, his daughter wrote to inform Mr. Spurgeon, and he
replied as follows : —
" West wood,
" Aug. 3, 1889.
" Dear Friend,
" You are now tried indeed, but all-sufficient grace will bear you throuo-h.
I desire my tenderest love to your suffering father. If he is now going home, I
congratulate him upon the vision which will soon burst upon him. If he tarries with
us a little longer, it will be profitable for you. We have not the pain of choice. It
is a great mercy that we are not placed in the perplexing dilemma of choosing either
for ourselves or others, whether we live or die. I pray for you both. May you
maintain the peace which now rules you, and find it even brightening into joy in the
Lord's will ! Jesus said to the women at the sepulchre, 'All hail.' All is well.
" Yours most heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Mr. Spurgeon's presence and address at the funeral greatly comforted the
mourners ; and in thanking him. Miss Habershon consulted him with regard to the
future, and received the following reply : —
" Westwood,
"Sept. 6, 1889.
" Dear Friend,
" It would seem to be wise advice which would lead your brother to take
your father's house. Iii the profession, a measure o{ pi-estige is valuable, and this
iiS c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
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I20 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
hangs even about the abode of a distinguished man when the name is the same.
You and your sister will be rightly led, for you look up ; and there is a finger which
never misleads.
" It was a great solace to be able to do anything to comfort your heart. Your
thanks are far more than I deserve ; but I did honestly endeavour to bear a
testimony which I pray our Lord to impress on some for whom we felt anxious.
" In these crises of life, the power to sit still is greater than that of activity —
which frets into restlessness. I commend you to the Good Shepherd. HE will
direct your path.
" Yours very heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
This chapter may be appropriately closed with a brief mention of the manner
in which Mr. Spurgeon voluntarily increased his correspondence to a very consider-
able extent, and thereby became the means of untold blessing to many of those to
whom he wrote. At one of the meetings during the College Conference of 1890, a
very touching prayer was presented by Dr. Usher, who pleaded with great earnest-
ness for the salvation of the children of the brethren. The beloved President was
much moved by the pe.xtion, and the hearty response which it evoked ; and he at
once offered to write to all the ministers' sons and daughters whose fathers intimated
their wish for him to do so by sending to him their children's names and ages. Two
letters were written and lithographed, — one for the older boys and girls, the other
for the little ones, — the name and date being, in every instance, filled in by
Mr. Spurgeon himself In this way, many hundreds of young folk, at home and
abroad, received a direct communication from the dear Pastor, and he had the joy of
reading a large number of replies testifying to the fact that the Holy Spirit had
richly blessed the effort to the salvation of the youthful recipients.
Thoughtful and kind as the whole arrangem.ent was, there remained a finishing
touch which no one could give so lovingly as our Mr, Great-heart. The litho-
graphed letter to the elder children contained references to " father and mother "
which made it scarcely suitable for the " mitherless bairns" whose fathers desired
them to have a share in the favour of a letter from Mr. Spurgeon. The facsimile,
on pages 118 and 119, will show how lovingly he read it through, and made the
necessary alterations to adapt it to the dear girl who received it ; and he did this on
June 19, his own birthday, when he was overwhelmed with contributions for the
Orphanage, which all had to be acknowledged before he went up to the Festival
at Stockwell, at which he was expected to make several speeches. Surely, even he
could hardly have given a more convincing proof of his delight in imparting pleasure
to others whatever mi^ht be the cost to himself.
CHAPTER XCII.
Ml' SptirscDu's ©pinions on Sxibjccts of (l^tncral Inttrtst.
HILE the many hundreds of letters and notes written by Mr.
Spurgeon were being examined with a view to the selection ot
those inserted in the preceding chapters, it was found that, in several
of them, he had given expression to his opinions upon subjects
of permanent public interest. It was decided, therefore, that a
number oi his epistles concerning religious, political, and social
matters should be collected in a separate chapter, in order that those who desire to
know what he said upon these topics may be able to refer to them. The letters are,
as far as possible, arranged in chronological order, with sub-titles to increase the
facility of reference to them.
Infant Salvation.
Among the many falsehoods which, at different times, were told concerning
Mr. Spurgeon, one which he naturally repelled with the utmost indignation was the
statement that he once declared that " there are in hell infants a span long." In
reply to a correspondent who asked if he had ever said this, he wrote : —
" Newington, S.E.,
"June 12, 1869.
" Dear Sir,
" I have never, at any time in my life, said, believed, or imagined that
any infant, under any circumstances, would be cast into hell. I have always believed
in the salvation of all infants, and I intensely detest the opinions which your
opponent dared to attribute to me. I do not believe that, on this earth, there is a
single professing Christian holding the damnation of infants ; or, if there be, he must
be insane, or utterly ignorant of Christianity. I am obliged by this opportunity of
denying the calumny, although the author of it will probably find no difficulty in
inventing some other fiction to be affirmed as unblushingly as the present one. He
who doubts God's Word is naturally much at home in slandering the Lord's ser\'ants.
"Yours truly,
" C. H. Sturgeon."
The question of the salvation of infants is also referred to in the following note,
which was written to a minister, whose infant child had died, and to whose wife a
122 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Christadelphian had expressed the idea that children dying at that age have no
existence after death : —
" Clapham,
" June 8, 1872.
" Dear Friend,
"I am just leaving home, and can only write and say, — May th^ Comforter
fulfil His Divine office in your hearts ! The child is with Jesus. David did not
think his babe annihilated when he said, ' I shall go to him.' Away with these
foolish dreams ! The Lord be with you !
" Yours in sympathy,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Romanism in the Church of England.
When Mr. Mackey, the Protestant lecturer, was put in prison, Mr. C. N.
Newdegate, M P., called upon Mr. Spurgeon, to discuss the various aspects of the
question, and the anti-Romish agitation in general. After he reached his home, he
wrote to the Pastor as follows : —
" 3, Arlington Street,
" Piccadilly,
" Sept. 24, 1871.
" My Dear Sir,
" I shall consider our conversation as confidential, as I am sure you will,
since I mentioned individuals and their conversations, which I have no right to
publish. You will, I am sure, understand this.
" Yours very sincerely,
"C. N. Newdegate."
To this note, Mr. Spurgeon replied thus : —
" Clapham,
" Sept. 26.
" My Dear Sir,
" Rely upon me. As far as I am concerned, I do not object to your
repeating any remarks of mine, but I quite see the propriety of your request, and
will readily comply with it. The imprisonment of Mr. Mackey appears to be a
breach of all equity. If law permits it, law itself is bad. To check the power of the
Papacy, and put down its errors, is a work worthy of the efforts of the best of men.
May you have success in your labours ! So long, however, as the Episcopal
denomination remains Popish and patronized, your efforts wUl be stultified.
" Some years ago (such things are rare with us), I lost a member of my church,
c. H. sturgeon's autobiography. 123
who is now a Romanist. How was he seduced ? Not by Dr. Manning or
St. George's Cathedral, but by Mr. Mackonochie and St. Alban's. I have more to
fear from your Church than from the Pope's hirehngs, for it uses its Evangehcal
clergy as the first lure to godly people, then its semi-Ritualists, then its full-blown
Papists, and so on, till men are conducted down to the pit of Popery.
" Besides, your Church claims a pre-eminence I cannot concede to it, curses me
roundly in its canons, denies my call to the ministry, shuts the worthiest ot my
brethren out of its pulpits, and, to crown all, compels me to pay tithes and support
an establishment which I abhor. Yet I love the true Protestants in your Church
most heartily, though smarting daily under grievous wrongs, in the infliction of
which they -axq. pat'ticipes criniinis.
" Christian charity finds it hard to live where it is demanded on the one side,
but cannot be returned on the other. While the existence of Protestant Dissenters
is ignored by the Church, as such, and is treated as a crime in her canons, it is only
a miracle of grace which enables a Nonconformist to have fellowship with any
member of the dominant sect. I pray God to remove this monstrous barrier in the
way of union, and to unite all our hearts in His fear.
" I am glad to have seen you and am,
" Yours very heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Bell-ringing at Newington.
At various times, Mr. Spurgeon was obliged to write to the Newington clergy
concerning the bell -ringing during services at the Tabernacle. The following was
one of these communications : —
" Nightingale Lane,
" Clapham,
"July 4.
" Dear Sir,
" I beg to call your attention to the great disturbance caused by the
ringing of a bell, at St. Gabriel's Church, while the congregation at the Tabernacle
is engaged in prayer. I reminded your predecessor that no right of bell-ringing
belongs to any but a parish church, and informed him that I really must appeal to
the law to stop the needless nuisance. He very kindly reduced the evil to the
minimum, and I no longer objected. I am sure it is far from me to wish to interfere
with the peculiar habits of my neighbours ; but when many hundreds of persons,
met to worship God, are disturbed by the clanging of a loud bell, it compels me to
complain. The hours when we are at worship are at 11 and 6.30 on Sunday,
and from 7 to 8.30 p.m. on Monday and Thursday.
124 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
"Wishing to be upon good terms with all in the parish, I trust that you will
not allow the bell-ringer to disturb us further, but will substitute a few strokes for
the many which are now given.
" I am,
" Yours truly,
" C. H. Spurgeok."
Canon Palmer, to whom the above letter was addressed, was one of the
speakers at the memorial service for Christian workers held in connection with
Mr. Spurgeon's funeral, and, after reading the note, he said : —
" I have no copy of my answer, but I think I can remember its effect
tolerably well. It was that I did not know what the law might order, but I was
quite sure what the gospel required. It required that my neighbours should not
be unnecessarily troubled, and I would ofive orders, at once, that the bell-ringfinof
should be confined to a few strokes, and I had no doubt that the bell-ringer would
be very much obliged to Mr. Spurgeon for mitigating his labours in that extremely
hot weather. He wrote me again, immediately : —
" Dear Sir,
" I am exceedingly obliged by your prompt and Christian reply. I felt
it needful to make my protest against the bell-ringing somewhat strong, that I might
not appear to be asking a favour merely, but claiming a right not to be disturbed.
Otherwise, the lapse of years gives right to a custom against which no protest
is entered. This, and no unfriendliness to you, prompted what you considered to
be a threat. I can only hope that future correspondence may be, on my part, on a
more pleasant subject, and, on your part, may be in the same generous tone.
" Yours very heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Annipiilationism.
During the whole of Mr. Spurgeon's ministry, comparatively few of the
members of his church embraced erroneous opinions ; but when they did, they
usually resigned their membership, and united with those who held similar views
to those which they had adopted. There was at least one individual who did not
conform to this rule ; and, concerning him, the Pastor wrote as follows to Rev.
Samuel Minton : —
" Clapham,
"July 20.
" Sir,
" I am sorry that Mr. — — stultifies his own convictions, and distresses
c, H. spurc;eon's autobiography. 125
others, by remaining with a church whose testimony is diametrically opposed to
his opinions. It seems to me that a Christian man is bound to unite with a church
where he may consistently hold and promulgate his views ; but he has no excuse
if he remains with a people to whom his views are obnoxious, and where his
agitation of his opinions tends to create strife and division. We, as a church at
the Tabernacle, cultivate fellowship with all the churches of our Lord, although
differing in many respects from some of them ; but, within our own membership,
we have a basis of agreement in doctrine and practice, and where a member differs
from it, it is his duty to remove to some other community where his views are held,
or else he must expect us to withdraw from him. I have taken no further action
in the case of Mr. than to request him to find a more congenial fellowship ;
but if he does not do so, our discipline must take its usual course. No honest
man can be a member of the church meeting at the Tabernacle, and hold annihila-
tionist views, for now and in all time past we have borne testimony to the generally-
received doctrine.
"Yours truly,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Voting "as unto the Lord."
During the General Election of 1880, a gentleman having written to express
his deep regret that Mr. Spurgeon "should have descended from his high and lofty
position as a servant of God, and preacher of the everlasting gospel, into the defiled
arena of party politics," the Pastor replied to him : —
" Niohtino-ale Lane,
" Balham, Surrey,
" Mar. 22, 1S80.
" Dear Sir,
"Your letter amuses me, because you are so evidently a rank Tory,
and so hearty in your political convictions that, in spite of your religious scruples,
you must needs interfere in politics, and write to me. If there is anything defiling
in it, you are certainly over head and ears.
" However, dear sir, I thank you for your kindness in wishing to put me right,
and I can assure you that I vote as devoutly as I pray, and feel it to be a part of
my love to God and to my neighbour to try to turn out the Government whom
your letter would lead me to let alone.
" You are as wrong as wrong can be in your notion ; but, as it keeps you from
voting, I shall not try to convert you, for I am morally certain you would vote for
the Tory candidate.
" In things Divine, we are probably at one ; and you shall abstain from
126 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
voting- as zuito the Lord, and I will vote as tmto the Lord, and we will both give
Him thanks.
" Yours truly,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Yet, staunch Liberal and ardent admirer of Mr. Gladstone as he was, Mr.
Spurgeon was by no means a blind follower of any earthly leader. He protested
very emphatically against the appointment of the Marquis of Ripon as Viceroy of
India, and he wrote thus, concerning that and other political questions, in reply to
a letter from his old Cambridge friend, Mr. J. S. Watts : —
" Nightingale Lane,
" June 19, '80.
" My Dear Friend,
" Like yourself, I go in for religious equality, but I like things done
legally, and not in Mr. Gladstone's occasionally despotic way, — by Royal Warrant,
or by his own will. Alter the Act of Settlement if the nation chooses, but do not
contravene it. Moreover, I should not allow a Mormonite to be Judge in the
Divorce Court, nor a Quaker to be Commissioner of Oaths, nor an atheist to be
Chaplain to the House of Commons ; and, for the same reason, I would not have a
Roman Catholic, sworn to allegiance to the Pope, to be Viceroy of India. Mr-
Gladstone said this himself when writing about the Vatican ; but the way in which
he eats his words, and puts on a new forni so soon as he is in power, does not
increase my esteem for him.
" I belong to the party which knows no party. To cheapen beer, to confirm
the opium curse, to keep in office the shedders of blood, and to put Papists to the
front, are things I never expected from Mr. Gladstone ; but ' cursed be the man that
trusteth in man.' Yet I am a Gladstonite despite all this.
" To turn to a better subject, — the Girls' Orphanage is outdoing all that went
before. Love-letters pour in to-day. Am I not happy .^ I believe I have ^7,000
out of ^T 1,000. It comes leaping over mountains and hills. The Lord is a
glorious Helper. Oh, for more faith in Him !
" Yours ever most heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
In order to keep together the letters relating to Mr. Gladstone, another of later
date is inserted here : —
Home Rule.
It is well known that Mr. Spurgeon did not agree with Mr. Gladstone's Home
Rule proposals, and that many of his own most ardent admirers differed from him
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 12/
upon that matter. Among- others, Pastor T. W. Medhurst supported the Liberal
leader, and, in consequence, some of the' Portsmouth papers represented him as
having- spoken unkindly of his beloved President. He therefore wrote to
Mr. Spurgeon, who sent the following reply : —
" Dear Friend,
" I did not think your language, as reported, to be disrespectful, nor
even dreamed that you would be unkind. Speak as strongly as ever you like, and I
shall not be aggrieved. You are as free as I am ; and 1 am free, and mean to be.
If others think the bill wise and good, I hope they will do their best to carry it.
I believe it to be a fatal stab at our common country, and I am bound to oppose it.
I am as good a Liberal as any man living, and my loving admiration of Mr.
Gladstone is the same as ever, hearty and deep ; but this bill I conceive to be a
very serious error. I claim to be under no man's dictation, and to dictate to no
man. Do not fear to speak through any shrinking on my account. Both sides
ought to be heard. I shall love you none the less, but all the more, for being-
plain-spoken.
" Yours very heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Registrars .\t Nonconformist Weddings.
The following letter is of special interest now that the proposal referred to in
it has been embodied in an Act of Parliament : —
" Westwood,
"April 9, 1 88 1.
" Dear Friend,
" I regard marriage as a civil contract, which ought to be made before a
magistrate or a registrar. I should be glad to be rid of marrying and burying
altogether as religious matters, save only where there is a sincere desire for the
Divine blessing or consolation. In these cases, let the minister hold a service at the
house or the meeting-house ; but do not make him a State official to register
marriages, and to be held responsible for all the intricacies of marriage law.
" I hope Mr. Briggs' proposal will never pass, or anything like it. If it did,
I could only refuse to marry anybody, for I will not become a registrar. I'
altogether agree with the reported action of the Liberation Society, and wish for
the time when all marriages shall be at the registrar's office, and then the godly can
have such religious service afterwards as they wish.
" Yours ever heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
125 c. h. spurgeon s autobiography.
Vivisection. '
At a meeting-, held at West Norwood, under the auspices of the London Anti-
vivisection Society, the following letter from Mr. Spurgeon was read : —
"Westwood,
"July 25, 1881.
" Dear Sir,
" I am unable to attend your garden meeting. I wish evermore the
utmost success to all protests against the inhuman practice of vivisection. It does
not bear to be thought of. How it must excite the righteous indignation of the
all-merciful Creator ! It is singularly sad that there should need to be an agitation
on such a question ; for one would think that the least-enlightened conscience would
perceive the evil of such cruelty, and that the most-hardened heart would retain
sufficient humanity to revolt against it.
" Yours truly,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Persecution of Jews in Russia.
Mr. Spurgeon was unable to be present at the meeting held at the Mansion
House, on February i, 1882, to protest against the persecution of the Jews in
Russia, but the following letter from him was read by the Lord Mayor : —
" I am sorry that I am quite precluded by prior engagements irom being at the
Mansion House to speak against the outrages committed upon the Jews. I am,
however, relieved by the belief that the heart of England is one in a strong feeling
of indignation at the inhuman conduct of certain savages in Russia. Every man
and woman among us feels eloquently on behalf of our fellow-men who are subjected
to plunder and death, and still more for our sisters, to whom even worse treatment
has been meted out. Thence you have the less need of speeches and orations. As
a Christian, I feel that the name of our Redeemer is dishonoured by such conduct on
the part of His professed followers. As a Nonconformist and a Liberal, believing
in the equal rights of all men to live in freedom and safety, I must protest against a
state of things in which the Jew is made an outlaw. Lastly, as a man, I would
mourn in my inmost soul that any beings in human form should be capable of such
crimes as those which have made Russia red with Israelitish blood. But what need
even of these few sentences ? The oppressed are sure of advocates wherever
Englishmen assemble."
Gospel Temperance.
On March 15, 1882, Mr. Spurgeon wrote the letter on the following page,
to be read at the meeting to which it refers : —
C. II. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 1 29
" Dear Friends,
" I am exceedingly sorry to be absent from this first meeting to form the
Tabernacle Total Abstinence Society. The worst of it is, that my head is so out
of order that I cannot even dictate a proper letter. I can only say, ' Try and do all
the better because I am away.' If the leader is shot down, and his legs are broken,
the soldiers must give an extra hurrah, and rush on the enemy, I sincerely believe
that, next to the preaching of the gospel, the most necessary thing to be done in
England is to induce our people to become total abstainers. I hope this Society
will do something when it is started. I don't want you to wear a lot of peacocks'
feathers and putty medals, nor to be always trying to convert the moderate drinkers,
but to go in for winning the real drunkards, and bringing the poor enslaved
creatures to the feet of Jesus, who can give them liberty. 1 wish I could say ever
so many good things, but I cannot, and so will remain,
" Yours teetotally,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
When the second anniversary of the Society was celebrated, Mr. Spurgeon
was aofain ill, but he wrote this letter to be read at the meeting : —
" Westwood,
"March 19, 1884.
" Dear Friends,
" I have just been saying that I should like to be as strong as a lion ;
but it has been suggested to me that, then, I might not be so strong as I am now.
I ani sorry that I happen to be weak when the battle is against strong drink. May
the speakers to-night make Up for my enforced absence by speaking twice as well as
possible ! The theme should fire them. ' I hope they will be full of spirit against
evil spirits, stout against stout, and hale against ale. Let the desolate homes, the
swollen rates, the crowded goals, the untimely graves, and the terrible destruction of
souls, all wrought by drunkenness, inspire you with fervour for the cause of
temperance. Thank God for what has been accomplished ; your year's labour has
not been in vain in the Lord ; but let this nerve you for larger endeavours. The
drink must be dried up, — fountain, stream, and pool ; this river of death must cease
to flow through our land. God's grace will help us. His pity for sinners will move
Him to aid every loving effort for the salvation of the fallen.
" I pray for a sevenfold blessing upon the year to come. If I cannot speak to
men, I can speak with God for them, and I will do so. May our Lord Jesus Christ
inspire us with a deeper love to perishing sinners ! With my hearty love,
" I am. Brother Blues,
" Yours truly,
"C. H. Spurgeon."
■" . 14
130 c. h. spurgeon s autobiography.
Pigeon-shooting.
In a letter to Mr. J. T. Markley, of Eastbourne, dated April, 1882, with reference
to his suo-o-estions in the public prints in favour of the substitution of artificial for
live birds at shooting contests, Mr. Spurgeon wrote : — " My judgment is heartily
with you as to the brutality of pigeon-shooting matches. I cannot make out how
people, who are in other matters kind and gentle, can frequent these butcheries. I
am still very unwell, and hardly like to think of the woes of this creation. I cannot
just now do or say anything worth doing or saying, sO I must leave the cause of the
dumb in the hands of such good pleaders as yourself"
Disestablishment.
Mr. Spurgeon promised to be present, if possible, at the Liberation Society's
meeting at the Tabernacle, on May 3, 1882 ; but, in consequence of ill-health, he
was not able to be there, so he sent the following letter to Mr. J. Carvell Williams,
who read it at the meeting : —
" Westwood,
"May 3, 1882.
" Dear Sir,
" I had always intended to speak to-night if strength were given to me,
and I am greatly disappointed that I am obliged to be absent. I feel that this
question of liberating the bride of Christ from her dishonourable association with
the State arrows upon me in importance the more I love the Lord Jesus. I see the
political evil of the situation, but the religious criminality is that which most
oppresses me.
" Here is a Church of Christ which surrenders itself to the State. Its Bishops
are appointed by the rules of a worldly kingdom ; and as for itself, it cannot
wear a ribbon, or leave it off, without Caesar's permission. It is a mercy that some
few of her sons find this fetter too galling. The mystery is that they should continue
to wear it when the door to Christian liberty is open. I long to see the piety of
Episcopalians so elevated that they will hate the present infamous alliance, with all
its hard bondage. Failing this, may the eyes of statesmen be opened that they may
cease to intermeddle in a sphere in which they have no vocation ! For members of
our legislature, as for us all, it is a task difficult enough to enter the strait gate each
one for himself; and it is a superfluity of naughtiness for these gentlemen to
attempt to legislate for the Kingdom of Christ, who asks for no help from them.
More strength to the arm of those true friends of the Church of England who
would establish her by Disestablishment, and enrich her by Disendowment !
" Yours truly,
" C. H. Spurgeon.'
c. li. spurgeon s autobiography. i31
Close-communion.
In the Richmond {U.S.A.) Christian Advocate, May 17, 1883, there appeared
what the Editor called "a clever, chatty letter" by Mr. Richard Ferguson, who
represented Mr. Spurgeon as saying that " he would rather be a cannibal than a
close-communion Baptist." This statement was reported to Mr. Spurgeon, and he
thereupon wrote : —
" London,
" June 20, 1885.-
" Dear Sir,
" I am not in the habit of speaking disrespectfully of strict-communion
Baptists, for I have a full conviction of their conscientiousness. As to saying that
I would sooner be a cannibal than a close-communion Baptist, I never thought so,
and certainly never said so. I have not the slightest wish to be one or the other ;
but I rejoice in being a loving brother to the latter.
" Yours heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
At various times, Mr. Spurgeon was asked about the genuineness of expressions
'with reference to close-communion which were attributed to him ; another of his
replies may suffice to show the general tenor of his letters upon this question. An
American Presbyterian paper stated, "on the authority of a sainted gentleman," that
Mr. Spurgeon had said, " I hate a close-communion Baptist as I hate the devil."
When this paragraph was brought under Mr. Spurgeon's notice, he wrote : —
" London,
"March 26, 1884.
" Dear Sir,
"I do not know who 'the sainted gentleman' may be, but he did not
speak the truth if he reported me as saying that I hated a close-communion Baptist
as I hate the devil. I never even thought of such a thing, and assuredly it is not
and never was true of me. The ' saint ' must have dreamed it, or have mistaken
the person.
"The most unaccountable statements are made by men of known integrity,
and they can only be accounted for by misunderstanding or forgetfulness. I know
my own mind and views, and I can say, without reserve, that the expression could
not have been used by me. As compared with the bulk of English Baptists, I am
a strict-communionist myself, as my church-fellowship is strictly of the baptized.
" Yours heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
" Rev. A. S. Patton."
132 c. h. spurgeon s autobiography.
Franchise Reform.
In reply to an invitation to speak at the Reform Demonstration, in Hyde Park,
on Julv 21, 1884, Mr. Spurgeon wrote :— " I heartily approve of the measure for
oivins" the franchise to our country brethren, and I much recrret that the Lords
should stand in the way of it. It must come as surely as time revolves, and no hurt
can come of it unless it be from the friction occasioned by the opposition to it. I
am not able to attend meetings to urge on political reforms ; but whenever topics
which touch upon the rights of men, righteousness, peace, and so on, come in my
way, I endeavour to speak as emphatically as I can on the right side. It is part of
mv religion to desire justice and freedom for all."
Anglo-Israelism.
Mr. Spuroeon's opinions on this subject were expressed in the following note
to a gentleman who was devoting his attention to the work of answering the argu-
ments brought forward in support of the idea : —
" Westwood,
" Sept. 27, 1884.
" Dear Sir,
" I wish you every success in your warfare against this silly craze. I
was at one time rather amused with the delusion, as a freak of human folly; but it
evidentlv has its moral and spiritual bearings, and must therefore be met and
exposed. I have not time for this contest, and therefore I am the more pleased to
see others in the field.
" Yours truly,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Open-air Baptisms.
A newspaper correspondence having arisen concerning the proceedings in
connection with open-air baptisms at Sheepwash, in Devonshire, Pastor W. T.
Soper, one of "our own men," wrote to Mr. Spurgeon concerning the matter, and
his letter elicited the following reply : —
" Westwood,
"May 13, 1885.
" Dear Mr. Soper,
" I was not present at Sheepwash ; and, consequently, can form no
opinion as to the behaviour of the villagers after "the baptism was over ; but I
remember that the same tnings were said, more than thirty years ago, of our public
baptisms in Cambridgeshire, and I daresay there is as much truth in the representa-
tions now made as in those of the older time.
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 1 33
"Those who did not wish to see so much of baptism imagined evils which
existed mainly in their fears.
" Baptism in the open river is so Scriptural, and, withal, such a public testimony,
that I hope our friends will never abandon it. The reproach is to be bravely borne ;
for, if you hide away in the meeting-house, it will follow you there. We are most
numerous where the orchnance is most known. Next to the Word of God, a
baptizing service is the best argument tor baptism.
" Whenever numbers ot people come together, whether for trade, politics, or
religion, there will always be loose persons to dishonour the occasion ; but we are
not therefore to abstain from such gatherings. Such an inference would be absurd.
" God bless and prosper you !
" Yours heartily,
"C. H. Spurgeon."
Evolution.
In reply to an enquiry with regard to the evolution theory, Mr. Spurgeon
wrote : —
" Westwood,
"Feb. 8, 1887.
" Dear Sir,
"Thanks for your most excellent and courteous letter. I have read a
good deal on the subject, and have never yet seen a fact, or the tail of a fact, which
indicated the rise of one species oi animal into another. The theory has been laid
down, and facts fished up to support it. I believe it to be a monstrous error in
philosophy, which will be a theme tor ridicule before another twenty years.
"In theology, its influence would be deadly ; and this is all I care about. On
the scientific matter, you do well to use your own judgment.
" The Lord bless you, and lead you into His truth more and more !
" Yours heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
At one of the memorable gatherings under " The Question Oak," a student
asked Mr. Spurgeon, "Are we justified in receiving Mr. ' Darwin's or any other
theory of evolution ? " The President's answer was : — " My reply to that enquiry can
best take the form of another question, — Does Revelation teach us evolution .-^ It
never has struck me, and it does not strike now, that the theory of evolution can,
by any process of argument, be reconciled with the inspired record of the Creation.
You remember how it is distinctly stated, again and again, that the Lord made each
creature ' after his kind.' So we read, 'And God created great whales, and every
living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their
134 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
kind, and every winged fowl after his kind : and God saw that it was good.' And
again, ' And God said, Let the earth bring forth the hving creature after his kind,
cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind : and it was so.
And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and
every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind : and God saw that it was
good.' Besides, brethren, I would remind you that, after all these years in which so
many people have been hunting up and down the world for ' the missing link '
between animals and men, among all the monkeys that the wise men have examined,
they have never discovered one who has rubbed his tail off, and ascended in the
scale of creation so far as to take his place as the equal of our brothers and sisters of
the great family of mankind. Mr. Darwin has never been able to find the germs of
an Archbishop of Canterbury in the body of a tom cat or a billy goat, and I venture
to prophesy that he will never accomplish such a feat as that. There are abundant
evidences that one creature inclines towards another in certain respects, for all are
bound together in a wondrous way which indicates that they are all the product of
God's creative will ; but what the advocates of evolution appear to forget is, that
there is nowhere to be discovered an actual chain of growth from one creature to
another, — there are breaks here and there, and so many missing links that the
chain cannot be made complete. There are, naturally enough, many resemblances
between them, because they have all been wrought by the one great master-mind of
God, yet each one has its own peculiarities. The Books of Scripture are many, yet
the Book, the Bible, is one ; the waves of the sea are many, yet the sea is one ; and
the creatures that the Lord has made are many, yet the Creation is one. Look at
the union between the animal and the bird in the bat or in the flying squirrel ;
think ot the resemblance between a bird and a fish in the flying fish ; yet, nobody,
surely, would venture to tell you that a fish ever grew into a bird, or that a bat ever
became a butterfly or an eagle. No ; they do not get out of their own spheres.
All the evolutionists in the world cannot ' improve ' a mouse so that it will develop
into a cat, or evolve a golden eagle out of a barn-door fowl. Even where one
species very closely resembles another, there is a speciality about each which
distinguishes it from all others.
" I do not know, and I do not say, that a person cannot believe in Revelation
and in evolution, too, lor a man may believe that which is infinitely wise and also
that which is only asinine. In this evil age, there is apparently nothing that a man
cannot believe ; he can believe, ex aniino, the whole Prayer-book of the Church of
England ! It is pretty much the same with other matters ; and, after all, the
greatest discoveries made by man must be quite babyish to the infinite mind of God.
He has told us all that we need to know in order that we may become like Himself,
but He never meant us to know all that He knows."
c. h. spurgeon s auto.biograpiiy. . 1 35
Arbitration.
When the proposed Treaty of Arbitration between Great Britain and the
United States was under consideration in the year 1887, Mr. Spurgeon wrote, in
reply to a request for his opinion with regard to it : — " Concerning the substitution
of arbitration for war, there can surely be no question among" Christian men. I
rejoice that the two great Protestant nations should seek to lead the way in making
permanent arrangements for the future settlement of differences in a reasonable
manner. May they succeed so admirably as to induce others to follow their
excellent example ! It is surely time that we reasoned like men instead of killing
like tigers."
UnFERMENTED COMiMUNION WiNE.
A question having been raised, in The Christian Coiiinionzvea/th, as to the wine
used at the communion services at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Mr. Spurgeon
wrote to the Editor as follows : —
" West wood,
"June 20, 1887.
" Dear Sir,
" We use Frank Wright's unfermented wine at the Tabernacle, and have
never used any other unfermented wine. I am given to understand that some of
the so-called unfermented wine has in it a considerable amount of alcohol ; but
Mr. Wright's is the pure juice of the grape. One person advertized his wine as
used at the Tabernacle though we had never used it even on one occasion. So far
as we are concerned, we use no wine but that produced by Messrs. Frank Wright,
Mundy, and Co.
" Yours truly,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Grocers' Licences.
In June, 1887, Mr. Spurgeon gave an address in connection with the Tabernacle
Total Abstinence Society, in the course of which he said : — " I could tell some
dreadful stories of respectable Christian men, whom I know, who come home from
business with heavy hearts because they do not know whether or not their wives
will be drunk. They have prayed with them, they have wept with them, they have
forgiven them many times, and yet the grocer's shop has been too much for them.
Do not talk about the public-house. That thing is straight and above-board, — that
much I will say for it, — but the grocer's shop is the place that ruins an immense
number of women. They can get the drink there, and put it down under the name
of something else ; and I believe there never was a worse move for the temperance
136 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
of this nation than that which made it easy to buy drink at grocers' shops. I have
not known a grocer who has not been deteriorated by the sale of it. I do not say
they have become bad men, but they have not become better men."
The soHcitor to the Off-Hcences Association wrote to Mr. .Spurgeon, challeno-ino-
some of his statements, and referring to the Report of the Committee of the House
of Lords upon the matter ; the following reply was sent to him : —
" VVestwood,
"June 30, 1887.
" Dear Sir,
" I thank you for your letter. I am always ready to hear the other side,
and especially when the pleading is so temperate in spirit. I do not intend to enter
into controversy, but my opinion has not been arrived at without observation. I
believe myselt to be much better able to form an opinion than those who are
engaged in the trade. Facts well known to us as ministers cannot be divulo-ed.
The ease with which drink can be obtained at respectable shops, I believe to be a
peculiarly evil form of temptation ; but to publish the facts which prove it would be
as painful as it would be easy.
"A Committee of the House of Lords can prove nothing; the witnesses are
silenced by a delicacy which their position demands.
" Yours truly,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
The Theatre.
An actress in America, replying to some ministerial criticisms upon the influence
of the stage upon religion and morals, made the following statement to an inter-
viewer : — "Among the best friends I have ever had, have been such eminent divines
as Henry Ward Beecher, Dr. Chapin, Dr. Talmage, Dr. Swing, Mr. Spurgeon, and
others ; and I am sure that none of these thought that my profession, riohtly
followed, carries with it any danger to good morals or religion."
The minister who had been in controversy with the lady wrote to Mr. Spurgeon,
enquiring as to the truth of this statement, and he replied thus : —
" London,
" January 24, 1S88.
" Dear Sir,
" So far as I can charge my memory, I have never before heard of
Miss . I am decidedly of the opinion that the stage is the enemy of 'good
morals and religion.' It has not improved this lady's truthfulness if she mentioned
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. I 37
me as enrolled among her friends. She may be a very excellent person, but I know
nothing of her.
" Yours truly,
" C. H. Spurgeox."
Mr. Spurgeon's opinions concerning professing Christians going to the theatre
are well known. Perhaps his most notable utterance upon that subject was evoked
by the attendance of a large number of clerg)men and ministers at a special
performance in the Shaftesbury Theatre. Shortly afterwards, in a sermon at the
Tabernacle, he said: — "The Christian Chmxh of the present day has played the
harlot beyond any church in any other day. There are no amusements too vile for
her. Her pastors have filled a theatre of late ; and, by their applause, have set
their mark of approval upon the labours of play-actors. To this point have we
come at last, a degradation which was never reached even in Rome's darkest hour ;
— and if you do not love Christ enough to be indignant about it, the Lord have
mercy upon you ! "
Brethren and Brethrenism.
In May, 1890, a correspondent wrote to ask Mr. Spurgeon some questions
concerninof Brethren and Brethrenism, and at the same time mentioned the followino-
incident in connection with one of the Pastor's sermons : —
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
"This may interest you. My father-in-law, twenty-five years ago, lived
in London, and on one occasion went to hear you preach. Your text was Nathan's
words to David, 'Thou art the man!' He had been exercised as to doing some
little preaching ; and as you proceeded with your sermon, he thought, ' Well, there
is nothing for me here.' You went on, however, to picture the Plague of London,
and asked, 'What would you think of a man who, during the time of the Plague, had
a specific for it, but kept it in his pocket?' Then, after a pause, and with out-
stretched finger, you called out, 'Thou art the man ! ' This went right home to my
father-in-law's heart, and he thought, ' That's for me ! I've.heard enough ! ' From that
time he began to preach, and has continued to do so ever since, the result being
blessing to many souls, and much glory to the Name of Jesus. His thought was
that he had the specific for the plague of sin in his pocket, but that he was failing to
administer it ; and one of his favourite illustrations of the simplicity of the gospel
messaoe is the story of your own conversion, under the local preacher's sermon
upon the text, ' Look unto Me, and be ye saved,' which story I once came across
in my reading, and showed to him."
138 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
In reply to the foregoing letter, Mr. Spurgeon wrote : —
" Westwood,
" May 9, i!
" Dear Sir,
" I cannot say that I have changed my opinion as to Brethren-?^;;/ ; but
with many Brethren I have always been on most brotherly terms. I don't think I
am bound to answer your questions about individuals. I believe that I was loved by
C. S., and that Mr. Kelly regards me in the kindest manner ; and I return the like
to the memory of the first, and to the other who survives. I am, perhaps, better
able to sympathize with their separateness nozv than aforetime ; but their ideas of
the ministry I do not accept.
"The sermon you mention was not printed. J rejoice that your father-in-law
was set working through hearing it ; and I pray that we may, each one in his
appointed way, hold and spread the truth of the gospel of our Lord who cometh
quickly.
" Yours very truly,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Funeral Reform.
Mr. Spurgeon wrote the following letter to the honorary secretary of the
Church of England Burial, Funeral, and Mourning Reform Association : —
• " Westwood,
" Sept. 1 1, 1890.
" Dear Sir, ■
" I hardly think it can be necessary to say that the expending of money
on mere show at funerals is absurd, unthrifty, and even cruel. I hope the common
sense of the people will soon destroy customs which oppress the widow and
fatherless by demanding of them an expenditure which they cannot afford. To
bedeck a corpse with vain trappings, is a grim unsuitabihty. Something has been
done in the rio-ht direction, but I fear your Society has yet to battle with prejudices
which are hard to overcome ; and when these are conquered, there will speedily
spring up another host of extravagances. I wish you good success in a reform so
evidently demanded.
" Yours truly,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
CHAPTER XCIIL
apprtctati&c Cormponknts, 18554890.
LTHOUGH Mr. Spurgeon often found certain portions of his
correspondence very burdensome, it was by no means all of thai
character, and it was frequently the medium by which he was
greatly cheered and encouraged. For many years, not a week,
passed, and scarcely a day, without tidings reaching him that his
sermons or other printed works had been blessed to the salvation
of sinners and the edification and strengthening of believers ; and he was also
constantly reminded, from all quarters of the globe, that prayer for yet larger
blessing was continually being presented on his behalf. This assurance was most
gratefully received by him, and on many occasions he was quite bowed down under
the weight of loving sympathy thus sent to him from far and near. A selection of
these letters was given in Vol. III., in the chapter entitled " Blessing on the Printed
Sermons ; " so communications oi that special character are not inserted in the
following pages.
Among the thousands of letters which have had to b^ read in order to decide
which should be used, there are very many that, for various reasons, cannot be
included in this work. Some are private documents, never intended to be published ;
and, of these, a considerable number came from the Archbishops and Bishops of the
Church of England, and most of them were written concerning individuals who had
formerly been Baptists, and who were seeking admission into the Establishment, or
they related to ex-clergymen who were wishing to enter the Baptist ministry. While
some of each class appeared to be acting conscientiously in the steps they were
taking, the history of others proved that they were mere adventurers, equally
worthless to either Church or Dissent.
Some of Mr. Spurgeon's correspondents completely changed the tone of their
letters in consequence of his earnest contention for the faith ; but, instead of giving
specimens of the two kinds of epistles, they are omitted altogether. Contro\ersial
matters have been, to a large extent, excluded ; otherwise, a chapter or two might
have been devoted to the correspondence which, at various times, caused con-
siderable excitement, if nothing more. The details of Mr. Spurgeon's career were
so constantly proclaimed, with more or less accuracy, to the whole world, that
I40
C. H. STURGEONS AUTOBIOGRArHY.
there is the less need, in this work, to refer to certain topics which are already
matters of public knowledge.
The letters to and from Mr. Spurgeon would have been sufficient to fill several
volumes the size of the present one, and readers will hardly need the assurance that
it has been no light task to select those which would be fairly representative of
the Pastor's busy life. Among the numerous interesting communications which he
preserved, but which are not included in this work, are very hearty invitations to visit
Victoria, and Canada, and South Africa, — at least partly for rest ; and earnest
requests to him to take part in various Conferences of Baptists or other bodies of
believers in Sweden, Norway, Holland, Switzerland, and India; all of Vv'hich had to
be declined with regret. Space could not be spared for two lengthy letters from
Dr. R. W. Dale, of Birmingham, and Dr. Leonard Bacon, of New Haven, Con-
necticut, making preliminary enquiries as to the possibility of Mr. Spurgeon
delivering the Lyman Beecher lectures at Yale College ; nor was there room for the
long explanatory epistle in which Dr. J. H. Vincent, of Plainfield, New Jersey, very
earnestly entreated the Pastor to accept the office of " Dean of the Department of
Biblical Theology to the Chautauqua School." In these cases also, only a negative
reply could be returned.
Applications for articles in American and other religious and secular papers and
magazines were constandy being received ; they often contained the offer of an
honorarium, or a draft for the amount which the Editors judged to be adequate ; but,
almost invariably, they had to be refused, because Mr. Spurgeon's literary labours
demanded every spare moment which he could devote to them. Most of the
requests for interviews met with a similar fate, though exceptions were occasionally
made, and the publication of the conversations which then took place usually
involved further heavy additions to the Pastor's correspondence.
For the purpose of making some sort of classification, " Letters from Ministerial
Brethren " are inserted first. These will show how widespread and intense was the
esteem in which Mr. Spurgeon was held by ministers of the gospel, both in the
Church of England and among the various Nonconformist denominations. They
will also help to cast side lights upon the Pastor's character and work, and so further
reveal their far-reaching influence and usefulness. " Letters from American and
Canadian Friends " seemed to be sufficiendy numerous and important to be placed
in a section by themselves. "Miscellaneous Letters" could scarcely be classified,
so they are simply arranged in chronological order. The illustrations, on pages 185
and 189, are specimens of the many instances in which Mr. Spurgeon's portrait
appeared with those of the principal representative men of the day.
c. h. spurgeon s autobiography. i4i
Letters from Ministerial Brethren
cannot be better commenced than by the insertion of a loving epistle, written by
Dr. Alexander Fletcher, before Mr. Spurgeon's marriage. He added this postscript,
and sent it on to the lady mentioned in it, who has carefully treasured it until the
present time : — " Sweet love, will this please you '^ Yes, it will. Every blessino- on
you!— C. H. S."
" Cromer,
" Norfolk,
" Nov. 16, 1855.
" Dear Young Brother,
"What a delightful, exciting, encouraging meeting we had last Th-ursday
week in your hallowed sanctuary ! The smile of God abundantly rested upon us.
It was a little Heaven below. Truly, it zvas good to be there !
" I am looking forward, with great interest, to the evening when we hope you
will preach in Finsbury Chapel. When we travelled together from Writtle, I
mentioned the evening of the first day of the New Year, namely, Tuesdav,
January i. If nothing comes in the way, I anticipate an august assembly, God's
gracious presence, and much good. Due notice will be given, and we hope to
witness a gathering and showers of blessing never to be forgotten. Favour me with
a few lines. I return home to-morrow.
" I need not say how much I was pleased with a certain lady, to whom you
kindly introduced me. I hope, like yourself, she will acknowledge me as her father.
She is everything I could wish. May your fellowship on earth be of long diwation,
and be the sweet prelude of your eternal fellowship beyond the skies ! Amen !
"Always yours affectionately,
"Rev. C. H. Spurgeon." . " i\LEXR. Fletcher."
In those early days, Mr. Spurgeon did not preserve so many of the letters he
received as he did in later years, so there is a long interval between the one printed
above and the following. It appears that the Pastor, and his friend. Rev. Samuel
Martin, of Westminster Chapel, had both been blessed to a certain individual
concerning whom a correspondent wrote to Mr. Spurgeon. He passed on the oood
news to Mr. Martin, who wrote in reply : —
"19, Belgrave Road,
" Belgravia, S.W.,
" Dec. 17, 1870.
" My Dear Friend,
"Your welcome letter, and the letter of your friend, are in my hand. I
thank you for your own loving epistle, and I thank you also for permitting me to
142 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
read the other letter, and for thus making me a sharer of your joy. What is our
hope, and joy, and crown of rejoicing, if not found in such facts as that which
' \Y. J. S/ narrates ? Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost !
" Whenever you feel moved to cast your net in our waters, know and remember
that our ship, or shore, or whatever may be needful to carry out the figure perfectly,
is at your service. A prayerful and praiseful welcome will always be given you.
" I have requested one of my deacons to leave at your door a volume which I
beg you to accept.
"As you read this, ask our Heavenly Father to give me back my power of
voice, if it be His will, that I may continue to preach His Son, Christ Jesus, with
whom I feel more closely united by means of every affliction which I suffer.
" What a large letter I have inflicted upon you ! Forgive the infliction. The
Lord keep you !
"Always yours,
"Rev. C. H. Spurgeon." "Samuel Martin."
Mr. Spurgeon was very grieved whenever illness prevented him from fulfilling
his engagements to preach at the Tabernacle or elsewhere. On one such occasion,
he received from Mr. Chown the following loving brotherly letter : —
" 24, Marlborough Hill,
"St. John's Wood, N.W.,
" May 10, 1876.
" My Very Dear Friend,
" I received your secretary's letter, last night, announcing your inability
to be with us on the 23rd inst. It will be a great disappointment to our friends, but
we will turn our anticipations into sympathy and prayer. May He, whose love and
wisdom have permitted the stroke, give the blessing proportioned to the blow ! As
the chastening hand is laid upon you, may the supporting arm be underneath and
round about you ! Many have never felt the Lord so near and precious as in the
furnace ; may this be your happy lot, and the flames be powerless except to keep off
the enemy, and burn off all bonds ! There are times when our very tears become
wellsprings of peace and comfort ; may it be thus, beloved friend, with yours ! We
are all with you in spirit. May God bless you !
" Forgive this line or two before leaving for Montacute, where two services
await me to-day. Again, and evermore, the Lord bless you !
" Yours very heartily,
"Rev. C. H. Spurgeon." ' "J. P. Chown."
When the Princess Alice steamer sank In the Thames, on September 3, 1878,
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 1 43
and hundreds of lives were lost, Mr. Spurgeon preached two sermons upon the
calamity. The following letter refers to the one entitled " Divine. Interpositions " :—
"Camden House, Dulvvich, S.E.,
" Sept. 26, 1878.
" Reverend and Dear Sir,
" This is not the first time that we have exchanged friendly greetings.
I am now moved to write to you to ask if your sermon on the Thames collision, as
reported in The Daily Neivs of the 9th inst., is published in extenso ; if so, where
can I get it ? I am quoting, of course with approval, a passage from it in my next
Sunday's sermon, and would like to have your exact words, if possible.
" One sentence, however, of your discourse leads me to offer for your kind
acceptance my last new volume on The Mystery of Pain, Death, and Sin. You are
reported to have said : — ' I do not attempt to justify the ways of God to men, but I
believe they are all for the best.' Well, I, too. devoutly believe they are all for the
best, but I have attempted to justify them.
" If you read my book, you must not mind a page here and there sadly jarring
on your own feelings ; but bravely read straight on, and it is possible you may find
much to cheer and strengthen your belief in God's great and unfaltering goodness.
" I sympathized with you very much in your late illness, and am very glad you
are at work again, and hope many years of noble activity are still before you.
" Believe me,
" Most sincerely yours^
"Charles Voysey."
In Vol. II., Chapter L., mention was made of one of Mr. Spurgeon's sermons
which Dr. Livingstone had carried with him through a great part of the African
Continent. The following letter, from Dr. W. Garden Blaikie, tells how the
discourse ultimately came into the Pastor's possession : —
" 9, Palmerston Road,
" Edinburgh,
"April 22, 1879.
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" I hope the publishers of The Catholic Presbyterian send it to you, as
I requested them to do. I am Editor, and wish to be even more Catholic than
Presbyterian. I have a proposal to make, and hope you will excuse me. Without
introduction, it is this. The first vol. of the Life of Dr. Diiff W\\\ be out next month.
I am going to ask you to write for the said Catholic Presbyterian a notice thereof;
particulars not needed, — but just yoitr viezv of such a man as Duff, and of foreign
mission work. I would get you an early copy, you would run over it at a sitting,
144 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
you would write your first thoughts as they came, you would, in our Journal, secure
thousands of readers not without influence, you would exemplify and promote union,
and I think, with God's blessing, you would give a real impulse to foreign missions.
In the first number of the Journal, I had a noble paper, by David Livingstone, on
' Missionary Sacrifices.' I wish now to follow it up with a word from you. Do
not deny this, if you can grant my request. I am trying, with all my might, to
combine and impel Christian effort in the wisest ways of working for our Lord.
" Apropos of Livingstone, I may tell you that I am doing something about a
' Life ' intended to bring out the more spiritual, missionary, and domestic qualities
of the man. I had in my hands, the other day, one of your sermons, — very yellow, —
it lay embedded in one of his journals, had probably been all over Africa, and
had, in Livingstone's neat hand, the simple words written, 'Very good. — D. L.'
Would you like it .'^
" If you do not take to the idea of Duff (although it is the best I can think of),
tell me, please, if any other presents itself. Your views of our Church organization
generally would be very valuable. With great respect,
" Yours very truly,
" W. G. Blaikie."
At Mr. Spurgeon's pastoral silver wedding, the celebration of which was
delayed through his long and serious illness, he was very strongly urged to abstain,
as far as possible, at least for a year, from all services away from the Tabernacle.
One of the ministerial brethren, who took an active part in the proceedings on that
memorable occasion, was Dr. Charles Stanford, and it happened that the Pastor was
under promise to preach for him at Denmark Place Chapel, Camberwell, a few
days later. Mr. Spurgeon thought it was extremely kind on his friend's part
voluntarily to release him from the engagement ; and the way in which he did so
added to the value of the action, which was probably unique in Mr. Spurgeon's
history ; lor people were always so anxious to obtain his help, whatever the cost to
him might be, that we are not aware that anyone else ever wrote to him another
such letter as this : —
" 8, North Terrace,
" Camberwell,
" May 22, 1879.
" My Dear Friend,
" Delighted and most grateful as I should have been to have your service
in average circumstances, my judgment has always been against allowing you to
come on the 28th. I only stated the case, and accepted your generous offer because
my folk were so anxious that I should do so.
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. I45
"Although the bills are out, I have ordered slips, with 'Postponed,' printed in
red letters, to be pasted over them. It is entirely viy act and deed, not yours ; and
if any remarks are made, they will be made about me. It is not likely that /
should be a party to risk doing- yoti, harm ! Now this will be a conspicuous fact,
which can easily be quoted, and which will, I hope, make you able to decline all
applications from outside the Tabernacle for the next twelve months.
" May God bless and prosper you richly, still more and more, in all manner
of ways !
" Affectionately yours,
" Charles Stanford."
In a later letter, Dr. Stanford wrote : — " Purely out of love to you, and at a
great loss and self-denial to myself, have I resigned the privilege of your sermon
for us to-morrow night. I hardly recollect anything that has cost me so much, or
that I have been so very, very sorry to give up. When I saw how far from perfect
recovery you are, and how miraculous your home work is, I felt shocked with a fear
that I had selfishly taken advantage of your generosity in allowing- you to preach
for me, especially at the beginning of your new campaign, so setting an e.xample,
and more especially as, in the circumstances, it looked as if I had some idea of a
quid pro quo ! I have, however, taken care to make public the fact that it is all my
own doing, and that you were ready to come to us.
" An engagement in a little place takes up as much time as in a greater
building, and if you had preached for us, no doubt you would have been pestered
by many simikir applications, which, if you had even partially accepted, might have
worn away your working power, all of which is wanted for your own enormous
apparatus of service."
Mr. Spurgeon, on his part, did all he could to compensate for the disappoint-
ment by sending a contribution for the fund in aid of which he was to have
preached, and also by presenting some of his books to Dr. Stanford, who wrote, in
acknowledgment : —
" My Dear Friend,
" You stun me. I can only say, in a short sum total, — thank you ! Our
school people are also much surprised and obliged by the ten pounds. . . . Your
sermons always quicken me, because they are so full of God's truth, put in your
own way, and are so all-alive. Nothing ought to have the very soul and essence of
a man in it so much as a volume of his sermons ; that is another reason why I am
glad to have some of yours. I have had many sheaves of them, but they are all
about in the world now, and many have been preached from church pulpits by old
friends. I have looked into The Treasury, just to see its plan, and form some idea
•of its materials, and I am sure it is a mine. As to the sermons, I pray that they
K 4
146 C. II. SPURGEONS AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
may help me to a knowledge of the secret I so long to find out. I want to win
souls, and if it please God, to win them now. I think your list of subjects would
alone help me. You remind me in your titles of old Thomas Adams. I have
nearly 4,000 books ; but, till yours came, I think not twenty- five volumes of modern
sermons were in my library.
" Affectionately yours,
"Charles Stanford."
The following letter from Dr. \V. Morley Punshon is interesting as showing
how such an eloquent preacher and lecturer shrank from occupying the pulpit at the
Metropolitan Tabernacle, although deeply attached to the Pastor. He did, however,
preach there during the time when the Wesleyans were making a special effort to
clear off the debts from their chapels, and the building was lent to them.
" Tranby,
" Brixton Rise, S.W.,
" Oct. 3, 1879.
" My Dear Sir,
" My only reason for declining the great honour conveyed to me by
Mr. Higgs is really my physical inefficiency. I eschew all large places, even in my
own denomination, of set purpose. I cannot bear the excitement ; and the three
months' anticipation of a service in the Tabernacle would make me thoroughly ill.
" I would do much, both to further your holiday, which I trust may tend to
lengthen a life so precious to all of us who love the Lord, — and to manifest the
Catholicity, nay, the oneness of our spirit in Christ ; but pray excuse me in this.
" With much esteem,
" Believe me,
" Yours very sincerely,
"W. MoRLEY Punshon."
The following letter, from Dr. Culross, needs no explanation: —
" 22, Lynedoch Street,
" Glasgow,
"18 June, 1880.
" My Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" Either you have received, or you will immediately receive, a letter from
D. Anderson, Esq., of Kingillie, near Nairn, and another from Mr. Lee, Free
Church minister there, aiming to secure a conditional promise from you to preach in
Nairn, next year, in connection with their new place of worship. I have great
pleasure in seconding their application. They would endeavour to make your visit
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAniY. 1 47
as agreeable as possible ; and, if you could spare the time, a week or ten days spent
there might invigorate you greatly in health. Knowing Mr. Anderson, I am
confident he would lay himself out for this purpose. Your sermons are circulated in
great numbers throughout the surrounding district, and a visit from you would be
welcomed by thousands. I do not think you have ever preached within many miles
of the place.
" If it were not that I think a visit to Nairn might refresh and strengthen you, I
would not write as I do ; but it would be a very different thing from coming to>
Glasgow. We remember your visit here with gratitude. A young man, who
unexpectedly was idle on the afternoon you preached, and who ' accidentally ' was
offered a ticket by a friend who was prevented from attending, went out of curiosity
to hear you, and was led to the Saviour. I have since baptized him, and received
him into church-fellowship. Doubtless there are many similar cases of which we do
not know. I trust you are again restored after your recent attack.
"With much esteem,
" Faithfully yours,
" James Culross."
Dr. Henry AUon wrote this hearty and cheering letter to Mr. Spurgeon in
reply to an invitation to speak at the Orphanage Festival : —
" lo, St. Mary's Road,
" Canonbury, N.,
"May 31, 1881.
"My Dear John Ploughman,
"You do not say at what hour your meeting is, — whether at the first
watch, or the second watch, or at cockcrowing, — not the last, I hope. I have
promised the Lord Mayor and my wife, — who is only a woman, though a good one,
— to dine at the Mansion House at half-past six, on June 22. Now, if your meeting
is in the afternoon, — -as I think it sometimes is, — I shall deem it a privilege to be at
it, and with you.
" I can scarcely admit to myself that your kind and valuable service to us,
at the opening of our new building, enhances the feeling of obligation to serve you,
or do anything you may think proper to ask. Your great service to the Master, —
your simple and unimpaired fidelity to Him, to His truth, and to your brethren, —
lay us all under obligations to help you in every way that is possible.
" One could not say this to a young man ; but the years have gone by when
it can do any injury to say it, or anything but good, to you. For my part, I am very
covetous of the real love and esteem of my brethren. I think it makes me tender
and humble more than anything, save the ' Well done ' of the Master. Sometimes
148 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
we see men injured by a great success, such as your ministry has been ; but God
has mercifully kept you from this, and I think all your brethren feel that every year
has wrought an added sanctity and grace, so that their love abounds yet more and
more to you. There is no service, in my power, that you can ask, that I shall not feel
it a great gratification to give. I want to take your Sunday service some day when
you afe unable to preach.
" Cordially yours,
" Henry Allon."
Dr. Allon's wish to take a service at the Tabernacle was duly realized, and
when he had been once, he had to go again, and Mr. Spurgeon on more than one
occasion preached for him at Islington.
Another of the speakers, invited by Mr. Spurgeon to the Orphanage Festival
of 1 88 1, wrote to him thus heartily accepting the invitation: —
" II, Clarendon Villas,
" Barry Road,
" Peckham Rye, S.E.,
"June 6, 1881.
" My Dear Sir,
" I am greatly astonished that you should be aware of my existence ;
and as to the idea of your catching any flame from me, — I am irresistibly reminded
of the words, ' I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me ? '
Would to God that / could catch something of that flame which has kindled so
many hearts !
" I have an engagement on the 22nd inst., but I must manage to make
some arrangement by which I can have the happiness of accepting your kind
invitation to Stockwell.
"As you are good enough to send me some advertisements of your invaluable
publications, the principle of Reciprocity (now so strangely popular) requires that
I should send you the only advertisements I have in hand just now. Of course,
I do not expect that one, so overwhelmed as you are with gigantic labours, can
pay us a visit."*
"With most earnest prayers that God may grant you health and vigour, and
may make you, for many years to come, a yet more abundant blessing to the
Universal Church,
" I am, dear sir,
"Yours most sincerely,
" Hugh Price Hughes."
* Mr Spurgeon did pay his Weslej-an friend a visit at the opening of the West London Mission, when he preached a sermon
which is remembered by many, with gratitude, to this day.
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 1 49
Mr. Spurgeon was very g-ratified by the receipt of the following letter from
one of the fathers of the Free Church of Scotland : —
"St. Bernard's Crescent,
" Edinburgh,
"June 20, 1881.
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
"I am a 'retired' minister. In June, 182 1 (60 years ago), I began
my ministerial work. In August, 1876, I ceased to be in charge of a congre-
gation. I then became colleague and minister emeritus of the Free North Church,
Stirling. I am the oldest minister, in point of ordination, in the Free Church
of Scotland. I am the oldest surviving ex-Moderator of the General Assembly
of the Free Church.
"As to my relation to yourself, I have read, I think, everything you have
published, down to your latest sermon and the latest number of The Szvord and
the Trowel. I love your writings for their true Puritan ring, for their soundness,
their liveliness, and thoroughly Evangelical character. I do what I can to com-
mend you and your great work, believing that, in doing so, I am serving our
Lord. I am not a Baptist (I have written a little on the other side in my day),
but I am a lover of all who love the Lord. On this ground, I claim you as a
brother ; and I will ever pray that the Master may more and more honour you
by making you an instrument of good.
"With Christian affection, and sincere goodwill, I remain,
" Very faithfully yours,
"Alex. Beith, aged ^t^."
For several years, when arrangements for the autumnal session of the Baptist
Union were being made, Mr. Spurgeon was asked, both by the local friends,
and by the secretary of the Union, to preach in connection with the week's
proceedings. He fully appreciated the honour thus conferred upon him ; he also
felt the responsibility of addressing the assembled representatives of the denomi-
nation, and the hundreds or thousands of other persons who constituted his
congregation on those occasions ; and the messages he then delivered in various
parts of the kingdom were among the most powerful utterances that ever fell
from his lips. Yet, long before he was compelled to withdraw from the Union
for reasons stated in a later chapter, he strongly urged the responsible officials
to ask someone else to take the position which had so often been occupied by
him. It was in reply to one of his letters, to this effect, that the loving epistle,
printed on the following page, was penned by Rev. W. Sampson, who was then
secretary of the Union.
150 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
" Baptist Union,
" 19, Castle Street,
" Holborn, E.G.,
"May 24, 1881.
'' My Dear Friend,
" To say all that I should like to say, and, indeed, what merely ought
to be said, would sound so much like flattery, — which you would be as sorry to
read as I should be to write, — that I scarcely know how to reply to yours of the
20th inst. The fact is, your position is unique. We all acknowledge and rejoice
in it, and are thankful to our Father in Heaven that He has raised up such an
one as you are amongst us. That is simply a fact to be recognized.
" How you have stood the work, and borne what everyone must feel to be
far more difficult than the work, the temptation that a position like yours involves,
has always been to me a wonder. God's grace has indeed been magnified in
you. To Him be all the praise.
"You say, 'Do you, yourself, think it right that one man should so per-
petually have the honour of preaching to the Union?' My only reply is, —
Were you other than you are, you would not have been so asked ; being what you
are, we all feel grateful to God when He helps you to speak to us. Depend
upon it, as long as God gives you strength, the people will feel these great
gatherings incomplete without you. But the tax on your strength I feel to be
so great that, after what you have said, I dare not say another word. I wish
I could have held out some ray of hope to the friends at Portsmouth. Any
inconvenience that I might be put to in the event of your being unable to
attend, when the time came, is not to be thought of When we feared, last autumn,
that you might not be able to be with U3, I wrote to Stowell Brown, asking him if
he would come prepared to speak, — and willing to speak or be silent, as you were
able or not. By return of post, came back the kindest letter consenting most
gladly. Any of your brethren would do the same for you, such is the position you
have secured in their esteem and love.
" May the Lord's richest blessing be with you and yours !
" Believe me,
" Yours most sincerely,
" Wm. Sampson."
1 88 1 was the year in which the Baptist Union autumnal session was held at
Portsmouth and Southampton, and the local committees in both places so energeti-
cally supported Mr. Sampson's plea that, ultimately, Mr. Spurgeon promised to
preach in each of the towns. On October 26 and 27, he was graciously helped to
fulfil the engagements, and none who were present are likely to forget the discourses
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
151
he then delivered. At Southampton, Mr. Spurgeon was the guest of Canon
VVilberforce, and he and many other Church of England dignitaries were present at
the service, and they also privately enjoyed much true Christian communion with
the Pastor, though part of the time they devoted to a very vigorous controversy
upon Baptismal Regeneration, in which Lord Radstock proved himself to be a most
doughty champion on the Evangelical side. Early in 1882, Canon Wilberforce
asked for tickets of admission to the Tabernacle, and, shortly afterwards, wrote to
Mr. Spurgeon as follows : —
" The Deanery,
'' Southampton,
"Feb. 24, 1882.
" My Dear Friend,
" Don't get canonical ; I would not have you anything but what
you are ! !
"We were prevented, at the last moment, from enjoying the privilege of the
Tabernacle service ; but sent some friends, who very greatly appreciated it.
"Will you come and see us one day again .'' Would it be possible for you to
run down on Monday, March 6, and read the Bible to us at our quiet home Bible-
reading.'' How delighted we should be, and we would take such care of you for
the night ; or, if absolutely necessary, you could return to London the same evenincr,
though this would be most disappointing to us. Do come ; it will be no exertion to
you, as there will not be above twenty persons, and you can help us, and speak to
us of Him who has so blessedly used you. My wife sends her most kind reo-ards,
and begs you to come.
" Ever most sincerely yours,
" Basil Wilberforce."
When arrangements were being made for the Baptist Union autumnal session
to be held in Liverpool, in 1SS2, Rev. Hugh Stovvell Brown wrote: —
"29, Falkner Square,
" Liverpool,
"June 12, '82.
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
"In the name of our churches here, I write to entreat the favour of
your being with us to preach at the autumnal meetings of the Baptist Union to be
held in Liverpool in the first week of October. Hoping you are well, I am, with
best wishes, and with the very earnest desire that you will comply with our request,
" Yours faithfully,
" H. Stowell Brown."
152 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAniY.
Mr. Spurgeon once more stated the various reasons why he should not always
be the preacher on these special occasions, and, in reply, Mr. Brown wrote : —
" My Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
"We are all as desirous as ever that you should preach at the
autumnal meeting. I fully appreciate your hesitancy to take so prominent a place,
and to do so arduous a work, year after year ; but no one else can do it, and upon
your advent very much depends. I hope that, should you come, we can make a
handsome collection for your Orphanage. I say this, not as a bribe, — for your
resources for the needs of your Orphanage are in far better hands than ours, and
the Lord will not suffer them to fail ; — but I say it as expressive of the love in which
we hold you, and of our wish to do what we think would be gratifying to you.
" I must now leave the decision to your own judgment, earnestly hoping that
you will come, yet very unwilling to impose upon you a work which, for various
reasons, must be a heavy addition to your many other burdens.
"Yours faithfully,
" H. Stowell Brown."
Again, and for the last time, Mr. Spurgeon yielded to the entreaties of his
brethren ; the service was another truly memorable one, and the net proceeds for the
Orphanage amounted to ;^i3i 5s. 6d.
Rev. Robert Taylor, the Presbyterian minister of Upper Norwood, was one of
Mr. Spurgeon's very special personal friends. He lived so close to " Westwood "
that he did not often write to the Pastor, but one of his letters to Mrs. Spurgeon
has been preserved ; it was written shortly after he had taken part in the Annual
Festival at the Stockwell Orphanage, June 21, 1882 : —
" Birchwood,
" Beulah Hill,
" Thursday morning.
" Dear Mrs. Spurgeon,
" I take the liberty of sending, with this. The Outlook, of this week,
which has a little article which I wrote on the Orphanage Fete. I don't send it
because it deserves your attention, or is worthy of the subject ; but just as the heart
tribute of a neighbour who greatly admires and loves your distinguished husband,
and who highly prizes the privilege which you and he, in your great kindness, allow
him of sometimes visiting 'Westwood.'
" With affectionate greeting to Mr. Spurgeon, I remain,
" Dear Mrs. Spurgeon,
" Very faithfully yours,
" Robert Taylor."
C. H. SPURGEON'S AUTOBIOGRAniY. 155
In the autumn of 1882, when arranging the suppHes for the Tabernacle pulpit
during his absence at Mentone, Mr. Spurgeon sought to secure the services of
Rev. Charles Garrett, of Liverpool. Though this proved to be impossible, the
Pastor was greatly cheered by the receipt of the following reply from his eminent
Wesleyan friend : —
" Leeds,
"Oct. 10, 1882.
" My Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" Many thanks for your welcome letter, and its kind enclosure. I shall
treasure both while I live. The fact is, I have long been about the most devoted
admirer that you have. I have thanked God for giving you to the Church, over
and over again ; and I always say that the whole Church ought to pray that God
may preserve and help you. Hence you may imagine how I prize your kind gift.
"As to occupying the pulpit for you, I would do anything in my power to
relieve you from either work or anxiety ; but this year I am very heavily taxed.
Everybody wants me, and all seem to think that, as I am President, they have a
claim to me. I am here at our Foreign Missionary meetings, and then I go for a
series of meetings in Scotland.
"Have you ever preached on the Witness of the Spirit? If not, / zuisk yoic
would. It is a subject on which many are greatly perplexed. Send it to me whea
it is published. God bless and keep you !
" Yours truly,
"Charles Garrett."
The following letter is a specimen of the correspondence between Mr. Spurgeon:
and Canon Harford, when the latter was one of the Canons Residentiary at West-
minster Abbey ; he had met the Pastor some time before, and had promised him
a medallion executed by himself : — , .
" Dean's Yard,
"Westminster,
' "March 6, 1883.
" My Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" But for an inhuman amount of work which has kept me chained to
this Abbey Rock of Westminster, I should be prevented by shame from writing
this letter, for the litde medallion of the Good Shepherd has been waiting more
than a year in the hope of being sent to you ! My young page-boy, who will take
it to ' Westwood ' this morning, knows how earnestly I have been hoping to find
a free day, in which I could carry it to you myself, and how, day after day, I have
been hampered with things immediately around me. An hour ago, all was arranged.
154 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
for our joint pilgrimage to-day, but the receipt of the enclosed note from an excellent
Christian woman (who, for some months past, has been anxious about the health
of her old mother to whom she has for years devoted — ^I ought to say, sacrificed
herself) tells me that, whilst inclination would carry me off to your beautiful Beulah,
duty directs me to go at once to Bond Street.
"You must, assuredly, have written some little book, or pamphlet, confirming
tiie hope and comforting the heart of a believer at such a moment ; and if you would
kindly give me the name of it, or the numbers or texts of any of your beautiful
sermons wherein you have dwelt upon the life of the world to come, I shall feel
greatly obliged, and will get them from Paternoster Row this afternoon. Your
sojourn on the Mediterranean shore has, I trust, inspired you with new poetry as
well as a fresh stock of health.
" Praying that you may long be preserved to benefit and delight the world,
I remain, always,
" Revered and loved Pastor,
" Your sincere admirer and fellow-labourer,
" Frederick K. Harford."
Mr. Spurgeon sent two sermons which he hoped might prove suitable ; one of
them was the discourse delivered shortly after his return from Mentone, and
entitled, " Supposing Him to be the Gardener." It is one of the choicest of his
sermons, and has been greatly blessed to mourners and others who have read it.
Canon Harford's second letter shows how highly he prized it : —
" Dean's Yard,
"Westminster,
"March 7, 1S83.
" My Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" But little did I guess, on entering my house last night at 10.30, that
such a rare and precious feast was prepared for me. Both of those sermons are
valuable treasures, but the inspired dream at Mentone is one that exceeds in 7cse-
fuhiess as well as in superb cleverness all the memorable sermons I have read from
English or from American sources during the last twenty-five years. I ha\-e
ordered fifty copies to-day, purposing to send the first to the poor mourner whom
your message is certain to comfort, and another to your genuine admirer, Louisa,
Lady Ashburton. Some shall go to France, where I hope a translation will be
made into the language of the country ; and some will go to certain weak brethren
whom I have been lately called to ' work at ' and endeavour to draw away from
Agnosticism and so-called Spiritualism.
" I rejoice to think that you like the general tone of the Good Shepherd
medallion. There is a proper angle of light for it, which, as you have discovered,
C. 11. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 155
ought to come rather from above than from below, and as you so temptingly mention
Saturday, and 3 p.m., as your g"eneral free day and free hour, I will arrange (d.v.) to
run down to ' Westwood,' on Saturday next, by a train which will arrive soon
after 3, in order to enjoy a half-hour's refreshing" converse with the master-poet and
philosopher whose genius has been such a joy and benefit to England.
" I must not forget to tell you how one of the most excellent women I ever
knew — and whose loss I shall ever mourn, — always read your sermons from the
year 1856, when I was ordained at Croydon, until the year 1868, when she was
taken away. Meanwhile, before setting" out for a round of work chiefly connected
with some thirty letters received this morning from India, I send off this scribble
as a token of affectionate homage from —
" Yours ever most joyfully and loyally,
" Frederick K. Harford."
About a fortnight later. Canon VVilberforce wrote to Mr. Spurgeon : —
" The Deanery,
"Southampton,
" March 20, 1883.
" My Dear Friend,
"You MUST — imagine my saying must to an Archbishop like you ! but
you nuist come, if only for ten minutes, to the Anti-opium meeting in Exeter Hall
on May 2. I know you have a horrid ' Liberation ' meeting at the Tabernacle that
night. Come and say a word about liberation from the dominion of a drug ; or
expect me at the Teibcrnacle with an amendment tied up in blue ribbon !
" Seriously, in order that this meeting shall be a success, your presence is
essential, and mine comparatively immaterial. With most kind remembrances,
" I am, affectionately yours,
" Basil VVilberforce."
The following letter shows that a Nonconformist friend wrote to Mr. Spurgeon,
in quite a different strain, concerning the same Liberation meeting : —
" 8, Russell Road,
" Kensington, W.,
"April 25, 1883.
" My Dear Friend,
" I heard to-day, with deep regret, from Newman Hall, that you are
again in great suffering. I was intending to write and ask if you meant to dine at
Mr. Allcroft's, on Wednesday next, after the Bible Society meeting, at which you
and I both have to speak. I was going to say that, although I wanted to attend the
156
H. SrURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY,
Liberation Society meeting in the evening, yet, if you had decided to dine with the
Primate of all England, I would go, too, just to guard your Nonconformity from the
perversive suasions of an Archbishop and a Bishop. Imagine their success, —
brinoincr you over to Mother Church, — surpliced choirs, processions, and incense in
the Tabernacle, and yourself invested with cope and chasuble ! ! To avert such a
catastrophe, I thought that I had better go with you ! !
" But I am afraid, from what I hear, that you will not be strong enough even to
speak at Exeter Hall, to say nothing of the dinner afterwards, so I shall go to the
Liberation Society meeting.
" But, dear friend, I am half afraid that this nonsense is like vinegar upon nitre
to you if you are suffering so much. You have one cause for great thankfulness,
viz., that you, in your gout, do more good than we ordinary creatures can do in our
very best health. May you find the old promise to Israel fulfilled in your experience,
' I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.'
" Ever your faithful friend,
" COLMER B. SVMES."
In another letter to Mr. Spurgeon, Mr. Colmer Symes wrote : — " I am person-
ally greatly indebted to you, and I specially want to thank you for all the comfort
and help which you have given to my late beloved mother during the last fifteen
years of her suffering, helpless life at Torquay. Although she never saw or heard
you, she always used to call you her minister. May God still continue to you the
grace of a simple, consecrated purpose, and the gifts of such a manifold ministry ! "
The following letter from Dr. J. Guinness Rogers shows what he felt con-
cerning the enormous strain involved in Mr. Spurgeon's preaching at the
Tabernacle for so many years : —
" I, Princes Gardens,
" Clapham Common, S.W.,
"July 14, 1SS3.
" My Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" I have been longing to get across to see you to-day, but am bafifled in
my endeavours, and so write a line to say how pleased I am to see that you have so
far recovered from the attack of last Sunday. '
"It was a pleasure to be able to help you, and so I faced any dissatisfaction
with my absence from my own pulpit, which Mr. Charlesworth occupied very
efficiently. However, all Christian people have such sympathy with you that I have
no doubt I shall be forgiven even by those most disposed to complain if they do not
see their own pastor. Your great congregation is an inspiration, but it is also an
overwhelming responsibility. I do not wonder that continuous labour in the
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. I57
Tabernacle tells on you, and in ways you may not suspect. I do not envy the man
who can preach there without having his whole nature strained to the utmost ; and
that means nervous exhaustion, of all others the most difficult to contend against.
" May the Lord spare you many years to do a work to which not one in ten
thousand would be equal !
" Yours very faithfully,
"J. Guinness Rogers."
In the " Westwood " chapter, mention is made of the Saturday afternoon
visitors to the Pastor at his home. One friend who was always welcome was
Mr. John M. Cook, a near neighbour of Mr. Spurgeon's, who constantly urged the
Pastor to allow him the pleasure of " personally conducting " him and Mrs. Spurgeon
(or his secretary) up the Nile, free of expense, just as his father, Mr. Thomas Cook,
had desired the privilege of being Mr. Spurgeon's guide through the Holy Land. It
never seemed possible to arrange for either trip, so both father and son had to be
content with an occasional call at " Westwood," sometimes accompanied by special
friends whose acquaintance the Pastor might wish to make. The following letter
explains the circumstances under which a meeting was arranged between Mr.
Spurgeon and Dr. VVelldon, the present Bishop of Calcutta : —
" Ludgate Circus,
" Oct. 30, 1883.
" My Dear Sir,
" Last night, I was dining at Dulwich, with Mr. VVelldon, the newly-
appointed head-master of Dulwich College. I met, at his table, my old friend,
ex- Judge Saunders, from India, who, in conversation, told me that he had the
pleasure ot introducing to you at the Tabernacle an Indian Nawab, who was
travelling under our arrangements, and that the Nawab stayed through one of your
services. Mr. Welldon spoke out very strongly in praise of your work, stated that
he had been at the Tabernacle several times to hear you, and longed very much for
an introduction to you. I took upon myself to say that there was nothing easier, and
that I was quite sure you would be glad to see him. Judge Saunders then
suggested that I should arrange to have the pleasure of introducing Mr. Welldon to
you. I explained that Saturday was your general day for receiving friends, and that
next Saturday would be the only one on which I shall be at home until near
Christmas. I shall be obliged by a line from you saying whether it will be quite
convenient for you to see these gentlemen any time after 3 o'clock next Saturday
afternoon. With kind regards,
" Yours sincerely,
"John M. Cook."
158 c. n. spurgeon's autobiography.
The appointment was confirmed, and duly kept, and so began a peculiarly-
intimate friendship. Mr. Welldon, in the course of the interview, told Mr. Spurgeon
how greatly his grandmother prized the sermons, so the Pastor wrote a note to her,
and sent it to her grandson, who then gave the following additional particulars
concerning her : —
" Dulwich College, S.E.,
"Nov. 5, 1883.
" My Dear Sir,
" I am deeply grateful for your kind thought of my grandmother.
Nothing, I think, could cheer her so much in her last days as this word from you.
It will perhaps be a little interesting to you to know that, some years ago, when I
was about to live in Germany, she put into my hands several volumes of your
sermons, and made me promise to read one every Sunday morning until I came
home, as she thought, poor dear ! that Senior Classics were sure to be sceptical, and
ever since then I have been a student of your writings, so that I suppose there are
few members of the English Church who know them better, or owe more to them
than I do.
" I shall, be at home on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in the present week,
and shall be delighted if you can come then, or at any other time, and see the
College.
" Believe me,
" Ever faithfully yours,
"J. E. C. Welldon."
Mr. Spurgeon early foretold the elevation of his friend to the episcopate, and
playfully expressed the hope that, when Mr. Welldon became a Bishop, he would
not forsake his Baptist brother. But when the expected promotion came, he had
himself been "promoted to glory."
Singularly enough, the very day that Mr. John M. Cook's letter reached
Mr. Spurgeon, he received this note from another neighbour. Dr. William Wright,
Editorial Superintendent of the British and Foreign Bible Society : —
" The Avenue,
" Beulah Hill,
" Upper Norwood,
"Oct. 30, 1S83.
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" Sir William Muir and his daughters expressed a strong wish, last
night, to see you. They are residing for a few weeks on Beulah Hill. I am
exceedingly unwilling to bore you, but I promised, if an opportunity offered, to
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
159
introduce them to you. Sir William's wish to see you is no vain curiosity, and
I think you receive visitors on Saturdays. As you know everything-, you know the
excellent work Sir William did in India in putting down infanticide, and especially as
a Christian student of Islamic literature.
" If you could see us next Saturday, or the following, I should take it as a oreat
favour. With kindest regards to Mrs. Spurgeon,
" Yours very truly,
" Wm. Wright."
Possibly, because arrangements had been made for the other visitors to call
that week, Dr. Wright's party was asked to come on the following Saturday, and he
therefore wrote, on November 9: — " I hope to call to-morrow, about three o'clock,
with Sir William Muir, Lady Muir, and perhaps their daughters and my wife.
I hope you will not consider our visit a visitation."
Having once found his way to " Westwood, ' Dr. Wright often came ; and, as
the result, he was able to write the remarkable testimony to Mr. Spurgeon's literary
ability which is given in a later chapter. He was "called home" while the present
volume was being compiled ; and only a few days before he received the Master's
message, " Come up higher," he was noticed to be standing at the oate of
"Westwood," and gazing with peculiar wistfulness down the drive which he had so
many times traversed on those memorable Saturday afternoons that he had spent
with his friend in the garden, or among the books which they both so greatly
loved.
This chatty note from a very venerable clergyman is interesting because of his
reminiscences of the young Pastor at New Park Street Chapel, and some of his
clerical critics ; the service at Finsbury Chapel, mentioned by the writer, is probably
the one to which Dr. Fletcher was looking forward when he wrote the letter on
page 141 :—
" 62, Torrington Square, W.C.,
"Feb. 22, 1884.
" My Dear Brother,
" Blessed as you are, in common with all believers, with Divine teachincr,
and with good temper (which all saints are not), I hope you will pardon me, who
preached the gospel before you were born, if I ask you, in one of your valuable
sermons, to say something about Shakespeare, — perhaps the greatest genius in his
way, who ever lived, — but, certainly, a deadly enemy to gospel truth. His plays are
getting more and more popular. It is sad to see that even good men are praising
him in the pulpit. You have talent and taste enough to appreciate his wonderful
power, and have some gifts in common with him ; but, of course, you know that
l6o C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
reading his plays, and, much more, attending public performances of them, can but
pollute the minds of such as do so.
" In a pastorate of half a century, I have thought it wise to consider suggestions
made to me (even anonymously), though I do not always agree with them.
" I often hear you, ahvays with pleasure. I hope, too, with profit. I have for
years given away your sound and Scriptural sermons every week ; and I tell you,
what I have told scores and scores of folk, that you are doing more good than any
man in England except Lord Shaftesbury.
"I said to two clerical brethren (both since Bishops), in 1855 (I think), 'I am
going to hear young Spurgeon to-night.' One of them said, 'What! that mounte-
bank ? ' I heard you in Finsbury Chapel. Before you had got half through your
prayer, I said to myself, ' This lad is no mountebank.' I heard your sermon, not
agreeing with a/l of it, but I said, next day, when I saw my brethren at a large
clerical meeting, ' Spurgeon is no mountebank ; I wish I could preach half as well,
and I wish as much for most of my brethren.' They were both very popular
men ; one is sleeping in Jesus, the other is one of our few Evangelical Bishops, and
a dear friend.
" I never pass a week without hearing of the good your sermons are doing. A
dear old friend of mine told me, the other day, that his pious aunt (aged 90) said
she ' lived upon those blessed sermons.' One of my working people said to me,
yesterday, ' I like that Spurgeon, I can nnderstand him.' This is one of your best
features ; you are always intelligible ; — let me add, always good-tempered ; and, best
of all, always Scriptural.
"Yours affectionately,
"R. W. DiBDIN."
This note came to Mr. Spurgeon, in March, 1884, from Mrs. Weitbrecht : —
" My son-in-law. Professor Christlieb, of Bonn, is coming to England to hear
and see Mr. Moody. He is trying to form an evangelistic centre at Bonn, to
prepare evangelists to go through Germany, to proclaim Christ and His salvation.
" Professor Christlieb enquires of me if he can also see his brother Spurgeon,
and I have ventured to tell him that I will write and ask you, and have added that I
hoped, if your state of health permitted, you would spare him an hour of your
time. Christlieb (' Chrisfs love') is full of fire, zeal, and Christian love. He has
often been fed by you, dear sir, and has fed others, through your sermons, though
he is no common preacher himself. I am sure you will give him a shake of the
hand, if possible. His time is very short. He brings his eldest son with him ;
he, like your sons, but younger, is a preacher of the gospel."
When the appointment was made. Dr. Christlieb wrote : — " It is so kind of you
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
I6l
to give me a few minutes next Wednesday at 1 1 o'clock. Having to write a history
of preaching in ah ages and Churches, I want to put some questions to you on
books written on eminent Baptist preachers."
Dr. Angus sent to Mr. Spurgeon the accompanying view of the Hbrary of
Regent's Park College, with the following note : —
THE LIBRARY, REGENTS PARK COLLEGE.
, • "C. R. R,
" Dec. 3, 1884.
" My Dear Friend,
"I hope you are not ashamed ot your company; as I am sure they
are not of you. Marshman, Carey, Ward, Fuller, and Booth are over you ;
Kinghorn is opposite, — a blessed fellowship.
" Ask Mrs. Spurgeon if she can find you : with all sympathy and regard,
"Yours very truly,
"Joseph Angus."
For a time, Mr. Spurgeon, and Mr. Lewis, of W^estbourne Grove Chapel, were
L4
i62 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
joint-editors of I'he Baptist Magazine, and they were always very intimate and
devoted personal friends. This appears to have been the last letter received by the
Pastor from Mr. Lewis : —
■' Victoria Street,
" St. Albans,
"Nov. 3, 1884.
" My Very Dear Friend,
" I cannot sufficiently thank you for the loving words you sent me on
Saturday ; and, best of all, for the assurance of your prayers. I am in a sorry
plight, so far as the poor frame is concerned ; but blessed with much peace.
" I need hardly tell you that I have no complacency in anything I have done.
The faculty of introspection is wonderfully quickened in such circumstances as
mine ; but 'grace reigns.' I only deplore that every pulse of mine has not beaten
in accord with the Saviour's will, and every breath exhaled for His glory. May He
continue to honour and bless and comfort you !
"With pleasant memories of past associations, — au rev oh' ! Pray for me still !
"Yours lovingly,
" W. G. Lewis."
When Mr. Spurgeon was arranging for the supplies at the Tabernacle, during
his holiday in the early part of 1885, he wrote to ask Rev. Mark Guy Pearse to be
one of the preachers. In reply, he received the following loving letter :—
" Grosvenor Villa,
" Southfield Road,
"Gotham,
" Bristol,
"Dec. 26, 1884.
" My Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" I shall count it an honour and a great pleasure to serve you. On
Feb. 15, I have promised to preach the Sunday-school sermons for our people here,
and cannot put them off; but I can give you Feb. i. This is the only day I can
conveniently find in Feb. ; but I can offer you either March 8, 15, or 22.
" I should much like to comply with your request without any of these
ungracious buts and ifs. You have made me your debtor long since. There is no
man living to whom I am more indebted. God bless you, dear Mr. Spurgeon, and
yours, yet more and more !
" Believe me,
" Always heartily yours,
" M. Guy Pearse."
c. H. sturgeon's autobiography. 163
After the Pastor's home-going, Mr. Pearse related this touching incident con-
cerning Mr. Spurgeon and himseH", and thus explained the indebtedness mentioned
in his letter : —
" Some years ago, I sat with him on the platform at the Tabernacle ; and,
in an interval during the meeting, I whispered to him, ' When I was a young
fellow in London, I used to sit right over there, and hear you preach, and you will
never know how much good you did me.' I cannot forget the bright light that
came into his face as he turned to me, and said, 'You did?' 'Yes,' I replied, 'and'
I am so glad to have this chance of telling you of it. You used to wind me up like
an eight-day clock ; I was bound to go right for a week after hearing you.' He put
out his hand, and took mine in it, and the tears brimmed to his eyes as he said,
' God blesg you ! I never knew that.' "
Mr. Spurgeon's letter on page 130, concerning Disestablishment, will give some
idea of the nature of his reply to the following communication from Principal
Rainy : — ■
" Edinburgh,
"May 18, 1885.
" My Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
. " We are going to have a public Conference on Disestablishment on the
evening of Thursday next. It is the opening day of our Assembly; but this
Conference is not exclusively Free Church. It is called by a District Association
which looks at the question fully as much on the religious as on the political side.
"Could you send a letter, however brief, to be read at the meeting? It would
help us much, — especially with those good people who are afraid of moving anything
that exists.
" I was glad to get hold of a good report of your recent speech on the subject.
If we should feel drawn to make a tract of it, would you license the theft?
" One does not want to spend too much time on these movements, yet they are
apt to usurp a great deal. But we have other work in hand as well. There has
been a good deal of promising religious impression over the country, and especially
in our University. Even this, however, seems to share a little in the strancre
tendency of our day to cut loose from definite Theology.
" Yours ever truly,
" Robert Rainy."
Even such a simple matter as an application for tickets for a Tabernacle service
gave Rev. Henry Simon, of Westminster Chapel, the opportunity of writing the
brotherly epistle printed on the next page.
i64 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
" Mervan House,
" Brixton, S.W.,
"May 28, 1885.
" My Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" I have a missionary friend, from Peking, who is very anxious to sit at
the royal repast which will be spread at the Tabernacle next Sunday night. Being
rather overgrown, as heights go, he does not care for the abundant entrance at the
Iront doors, but would, for once, like to enter with the elect saints to whom a less
abundant entrance is granted. He looked in such a way that I said I would try to
get him a ticket, but where to apply I do not know except it be at headquarters.
" I should have been glad of this, or any other excuse, for calling on you,
having a very pleasant and vivid recollection of a walk and talk with you in your
garden some years ago ; but I have conscience enough left to be satisfied to look at
you in the far distance, and to thank God that you are strong enough again to speak
to the great congregation. With Christian love,
" I am, dear Mr. Spurgeon,
"Yours in the best of bonds,
" Henry Simon."
While staying at Mr. Duncan's, at " BenmorS," in the summer ot 1885,
Mr. Spurgeon received the following intimation concerning a notable sermon which
he had delivered not long before ; he gladly gave the desired permission : —
" 19, Ardbeg Road,
" Rothesay,
"30th July, 1885.
" My Dear Rev. Sir,
" For many years, I have perused your weekly sermons with great
benefit to body and soul. I now trouble you to say that I purpose delivering your
admirable discourse on ' Coming Judgment of the Secrets of Men,' with your
permission, in the oldest Episcopal Church in Scotland. If you veto this, I will hold
fire. I mean to give it verbatim ; the only lack will be the voice of the living author.
" Were it in my power, you should have the first vacant mitre in honour and
appreciation of your singular gifts. Pardon this obtrusion on the rest which you so
much need for your unwearied tax of strength, and believe me to be,
"Yours most truly in Christ,
"J. F. S. Gordon, D.D.,
" St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Glasgow."
In 1886, Mr. Spurgeon preached, in Great Queen Street Chapel, the annual
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography. "165
sermon for the Wesleyan Missionary Society. It was one of the most remar_.able
discourses that he ever delivered, and it has been rendered specially memorable
because of the large number of missionaries who have gone out to the foreign field in
response to the powerful pleas he then urged upon all professing Christians. The
text was Matthew xxviii. 18 — 20, and the title, "Our Omnipotent Leader." This
letter, from a Wesleyan minister in Paris, expresses what many felt concerning it : —
" II, Avenue Flachat,
" Asnieres,
"Seine,
" France,
" June 17, 1886.
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" I purpose taking you for the subject of my monthly lecture at the
'Salle des Conferences,' Boulevard des Capucines. I feel that I cannot take this
liberty with your name, person, and ministry, without at least informing you of what
I purpose doing. You will understand at once that my object is to speak of Christ
to a Parisian audience that will be attracted by the subject of the lecture.
" Wesley says, in his ' Notes to a Helper,' that a Methodist preacher must have
all his wits about him. Methodist preachers have not the monopoly of shrewdness ;
but I venture to think that, if I am equal to the occasion, I shall have followed out
Mr. Wesley's injunction.
" I thanked you, from a very full heart, in the vestry of Great Queen Street
Chapel, for your sermon on behalf of our Missionary Society ; I thanked you for it
in Exeter Hall, and it would have done your heart good to have heard the response
of our people to what I said ; and now I seize this opportunity of thanking you
again. I shall never have done thanking you for words of cheer that have helped
me in the fight. I feel more than thankful ; I am grateful. Precious spices
become incense when set on fire ; so thanks, kindled by love, become gratitude.
" May I ask you to present my most respectful salutations to dear Mrs.
Spurgeon ?
" Thankfully and sincerely yours,
" D. A. DE MOUILPIED."
Such letters as the following always gave Mr. Spurgeon real pleasure : —
' Chaplain's House,
" Tower of London,
" 20th January, 1S88.
" Dear Sir,
" May I ask you to be so kind as to let me have two seats in the
l66 C. H, SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Metropolitan Tabernacle on Sunday evening next, for myself and sister? It is a
o-ood many years since I was there, — at one time regularly, with my mother, whom
you well knew. Although now a clergyman of the Church of England, and
therefore quite out of sympathy with your views of that body, I must express, what
I have always felt, the deepest respect for your transparent sincerity, and a hearty
admiration of your splendid God-given powers of clear convicting and also
comforting gospel preaching. I am what would be termed a High Churchman ;
but, believe me, I am not alone in, above all, loving and uttering God's simple
c^ospel, only believing in ceremony and externals as relative goods, means to an end.
" I have often, as a boy, shaken you by the hand, and should feel honoured by
a chance of meeting you again. May God preserve you many years, though you
rhetorically tear my Church to ribbons !
" Ever yours faithfully,
" E. C. Aylwin Foster."
On March 6, 1888, Mr. Spurgeon preached at Wimbledon; and, the following
morning, he received this loving letter from Rev. E. \V. Moore, M.A., the vicar of
Emmanuel Church : —
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" At the risk of being troublesome, I must write just a few lines to thank
you for the faithful testimony to a faithful Christ you gave us this afternoon. I
hastened back to the vestry (after seeing a friend — Mrs. Seton-Karr, sister to your
friend the late Mrs. Dudgeon, of Mentone, out of the crowd,) to have the pleasure of
a shake of the hand, but you had gone. I should have liked to tell you, though you
need no telling from me, how great and general is the sympathy felt for you here as
everywhere by all who cleave to Christ the Head, for your brave and fearless stand
for our Lord and Master. Thank you for preaching to-day a risen, glorious,
triumphant, unchangeable Saviour. He is the same as ever. He still baptizes with
the Holy Ghost and with fire ; and if He be for us, who can be against us ?
" Thank you for all the help you have often given me by the printed page. If
it can be said of any man that he does not know what a great work he is doing, it
may be said in a special sense of yourself You will never know here how
many souls you have gathered, and how many preachers you have strengthened.
God bless and preserve you to us all for many years !
" Affectionately yours,
" E. W. Moore."
The following note, from a clergyiTian of quite another school, was received in
August, 1888:—
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 1 67
" Queen's House,
" Cheyne Walk,
" Chelsea.
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" I and two of my children hope for the privilege of hearing you next
Sunday night, if there is any chance of getting seats. It is very seldom, in London,
I am out of my own pulpit ; and when I am, I do not like to miss the opportunity of
hearing the greatest living preacher.
" Yours faithfully,
"H. R. Haweis."
This letter was written by one of the Evangelical clergymen who resented
Mr. Spurgeon's " Baptismal Regeneration " sermon, but who afterwards became
one of the Pastor's heartiest admirers ; the receipt of the letter gave great joy to
Mr. Spurgeon : —
" Christ Church Vicarage,
" Worthing,
" 27th Feb., 1890.
" My Dear Brother,
" I don't know how it is, but I feel prompted to ask your acceptance of
the enclosed New Year address, which, I rather think, will find an echo in your
own heart.
" I remember once, when I was in Southwark, feeling constrained to differ from
you as to the interpretation of our Baptismal Services. Since that time, the
progress of error in the Church visible has been so alarming and continuous, that
all who really love the Truth seem to be under a very special obligation to manifest
substantial and brotherly unity ; and I cannot deny myself the pleasure of saying
how much I thank God for the firmness and consistency with which you have
maintained and propagated the precious doctrines of the grace of God in a
Rationalistic and Ritualistic age.
" Believe me,
, ■ '• Yours very faithfully,
" Francis Cruse."
When Mr. Spurgeon learned that the Jews of the present day substitute a dry
shank-bone. tor the Paschal lamb, he was so struck with the spiritual significance of
the fact, that he delivered a discourse upon the subject, and entitled it, " The Shank-
bone Sermon ; or. True Believers and their Helpers." On the following page is
one of the many letters he received concerning it.
i68 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
" 164, Richmond Road,
"Dalston, N.E.,
"54/90.
" Dear Mr Spurgeon,
" I enclose a cutting from to-day's Star, which corroborates in a remark-
able manner the ' shank-bone ' illustration you so happily used at Victoria Park the
other day. It is indeed a pity that Jews and half-Christians are content with a bone
when they are offered the Lamb.
"You are making a noble stand for the truth, and there are thousands of
ministers and others who heartily and daily say, ' God bless Mr. Spurgeon ! '
" Personally, I may say that I owe you more than I can ever tell. If you
only knew half, yo7i would never sit 'under the juniper tree,' for your life and
words are an inspii-ation to the faithful in every land.
"Wishing you continued Divine favours, I remain,
"Yours very heartily,
"W. Justin Evans."
These appreciative letters from ministerial brethren may be fidy closed with
the following fraternal epistle from Prebendary Stephenson : —
" Lympsham Manor,
"Weston-super-Mare,
"July 8, 1S90.
" My Dear Brother Spurgeon,
" I quite agree with you that occasional pain and sickness are good for
us preachers of Christ's gospel. I thought sympathetically of you, yesterday, when
I ached all over, after four services on the Lord's-day before.
" My heart has been drawn towards you in admiring love for many years, and
never more so than when I heard you on the Bible Society platform last May, when
you gave abundant evidence that the bough, pruned by the hand of 'the Husband-
man,' had not been ' purged in vain.'
"We may not belong to the same regiment of the great army, but our Captain
is the same ! Go on, my beloved brother, as you have done for so many years
past, to proclaim the magnificent glory of grace, and thus to gather trophies for
the cross. ' Tabernacles ' shift and vanish, but ' Temples not mc.d^ with hands ' are
'eternal in the Heavens ' !
"God bless you, mine honoured friend ! This is Cardiplionia, from —
" Your loving brother and servant in Christ,
"J. H. Stephenson,
" Treasurer of Wells Cathedral."
CHAPTER XCIV.
N accordance with the intimation in the introduction to the previous
chapter, the second sub-division of communications from Mr.
Spurgeon's correspondents is to consist of —
Letters from American and Canadian Friends.
Of these, the first in order of time are those written by Mr. D. L.
Moody, and they may fidy begin the series because of the mutual esteem and love
which he and Mr. Spurgeon cherished for each other. In reply to a letter from the
Pastor, inviting him to preach at the Tabernacle, Mr. Moody wrote : —
" 12, Lynedoch Place.
" Glasgow,
" March 17, '74-
" Dear Spurgeon,
" Many thanks for your kind note. I am in hopes that you will be led
by the Spirit to preach to young men on Sunday next. Enclosed I send you a
circular that a minister here is sending out in the hope that it will stir up some
interest in Britain.
" In regard to my coming to your Tabernacle, I consider it a great honour to
be invited ; and, in fact, I should consider it an honour to black your boots ; but to
preach to your people would be out of the question. If they will not turn to God
under your preaching, ' neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the
dead.'
" Yours, with much love,
" D. L. Moody."
The following year, Mr. Spurgeon helped Mr. Moody in his London mission ;
this grateful epistle shows how highly his services were appreciated : —
" 17, Highbury Crescent,
" Islington,
" May 8, '75.
" Dear Spurgeon,
" Ten thousand thanks for your help last night. You gave us a great
lift. I wish you would give us every night you can for the next sixty days. There
I^O C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
are so few men who can draw on a week-night, and I want to keep up the meetings
in the East End and West at the same time ; it is hard on me to have to speak
twice the same evening, and yet I shall have to do it next week, for I cannot get
anyone for the West End. Do all you can for the work, and we shall see blessed
results.
" Yours in haste,
" D. L. Moody."
Another letter, written some years later, shows that, while Mr. Moody still held
Mr. Spurgeon in just as high esteem as before, he consented to preach at the
Tabernacle one Sabbath during the Pastor's absence at Mentone : —
" Newcastle,
"Oct. II, '8i.
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
"Yours of the 9th is to hand, and in reply let me say that I am thankful
for your very kind note. It quite touched my heart. I have for years thought
more of you than of any other man preaching the gospel on this earth ; and, to tell
you the truth, I shrink from standing in your place. I do not know of a church in
all the land that I shrink from as I do from yours ; — not but what your people are
in sympathy with the gospel that I try to preach, but you can do it so much better
than I can.
" I thank you for inviting me, and (d.v.) I will be with your good people
Nov. 20. Will you want Mr. Sankey, or will your own precentor have charge?
Either will suit me.
" Remember me to your good wife, and accept of my thanks for your letter of
cheer.
" Yours truly,
" D. L. Moody."
One of the many letters which Mr. Spurgeon received from Mr. Moody's
singing companion will show in what loving esteem he held the Pastor : —
" Gwydyr House,
" Brixton Rise, S.W.,
" Nov. 8, '86.
" ' Dearly Beloved,'
" Many thanks for the precious Word you gave us yesterday."* It was
indeed most refreshing to my soul.
" Is it not a beautiful thought that our Lord's disciples always called Him, or
spoke of Him, as the Son of God, while He was down here on earth, and that He
* The subject of the sermon was " Our Ascended Lord;" it evidently suggested the remarks in Mr. Sankey 's letter.
C. M. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. I71
always spoke of Himself as the Son of man ; but that, when He went up to Heaven,
John saw Him there, and then spoke of Him, or called Him, the Son of Man?
John, no doubt, wanted to hold on to Him, even as a brother.
" I will try to see you again at the Tabernacle before I sail on the i8th ; I
love you very much. God bless you and yours !
" Ira D. Sankey."
Another very dear friend from the United States was Mr. John B. Gough, who
lectured at the Tabernacle several times during his stay in England in 1879. By
his own request, his last lecture on that tour was given in aid of the Pastors'
College. In writing to Mr. Spurgeon concerning the subject of his discourse, and
the arrangements in connection with it, Mr. Gough also made this special reference
to the visit he had recendy paid to the Pastor at Nightingale Lane : —
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" My hands are very tender, through rheumatism, so that I write with
difficulty, but I very much wish to send a line or two to you. I am very glad that
my last lecture in London is to be under your direction. . . .
" I have purposed writing to you to express our delight at meeting you and
Mrs. Spurgeon at your own home, but have been prevented hitherto. We shall not
forget that visit ; it did us both good like a medicine. It is very refreshing to meet
a man who knows what he believes, and speaks it, and lives it. And we have often
spoken of you, and dear Mrs. Spurgeon, from whom we learned lessons of patience,
trust, and faith, that we hope we shall never unlearn ; but if I should tell you how
fully you captured our hearts, and how sincerely we love you both, it might appear
unseemly. Yet it would be the expression of thousands of hearts that beat with
gratitude and affection for you and yours. I would like to speak to you of your
sermon on ' Forgiveness,' but your time is precious. May God bless you more and
more abundantly ! Give our kindest regards to Mrs. Spurgeon and your sons.
"Trusting to meet you, and to hear you, on my next Sabbath in London,
September 28th,
. •' I am,
" Most truly yours,
" John B. Gough."
Dr. H. L. Wayland, of Philadelphia, was another of the Pastor's very intimate
friends. During his visit to England, in 1881, they spent much time together; and,
on his return home, he wrote a long letter, a portion of which is printed on the
next page.
172 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
" 1420, Chestnut Street,
" Philadelphia,
"July 19, iSSi.
" ]\Iy Dear Mr. and Mrs. Spurgeon,
" (or will you not allow me to say,)
" My Very Dear Friends,
" You hardly need to be reminded of the vivid manner in which you, and the
Tabernacle, and your charming" home, live in my memory. 1 have taken the liberty
to send to you some numbers of our paper in which I have endeavoured, for the
pleasure of our readers as well as for my own relief, to express some of the
impressions made on me while on the other side ; but it is slow work, it takes two
or three weeks to record what I saw in a few days.
" My visit to England has made everything in English history, both past and
recent, unspeakably more real to me. When now I read of the Parliament and
Mr. Gladstone, or of the Tabernacle and its Pastor, or when I read one of the
Tabernacle sermons, all is living before me. I wonder what is that peculiar quality
of some voices that makes them apparently audible to us long after we have heard
them with the outer ear.
"I do not forget how busy you both are ; but I venture on the remark that a
line, however brief, would confer sincere pleasure on your American cousin and
brother. I trust that it will please the dear Lord to spare you both until we meet
again ; and that you may continue to live in your two noble sons ; and not less that
the Pastor and President may live long in successive generations of pupils ; and that
the angel of the Book P'und may be permitted for many years to diffuse light and
happiness, not only in her own home, but in many homes where there is little light
save that which she sheds. I can only hope that you, my dear friends, remember
your visitor with a tithe of the interest and pleasure with which he recalls both
of you.
•' Most truly and affectionately your friend and brother,
" H. L. Wavland."
Dr. T. L. Cuyler, of Brooklyn, always tried to spend an afternoon at
"Westwood" whenever he was in London. One of his many loving letters will
prove how he prized the privilege : —
''2>?>7, Strand,
" London,
"July 25, 1881.
" My Dear Brother,
" I cannot refrain from telling you that, among all the enjoyments of my
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. ' IJT^
five months' tour, nothing has given me such so/id satisfaction as my visit to your
beautiful home on Saturday last. The sweet savour of that visit will abide with me
for many days.
" It was a renewed joy to me to grasp again the hand of the minister of Christ
who has been permitted, by tongue and pen, to proclaim the Word of life to more
souls than any man since the days of the apostles.
" Please to present my cordial regards to your beloved ' Help' (who ' answereth
to you again,' — but only in love).
" I write this at the National Temperance League office, whither all my letters
are sent.
" With grateful affection,
" Yours to the core,
"Theodore L. Cuyler."
The writer of the following grateful letter was a very special Canadian friend,
who was baptized at the Tabernacle : —
" Montreal,
" 14th Oct., 1881.
" Beloved Mr. Spurgeon,
" A feeling of incredulity took possession of me when I opened and read
your note. I thought it simply impossible that it could be from your very own
pen. What a man you are ! I thought George Miiller wonderful when I came in
contact with him ; but, really, the riches of God's grace, and the boundless capacity
of these poor human souls and hearts when filled with His grace, are, if possible,
still more magnified in you than in him. It was a little thing to do, — writino- me
that note, — but it has indeed interested and made glad a number of people who
daily bear .you up before the Lord, and whose hearts go out to you in love
exceedingly.
" On Saturday, a gentleman from Edinburgh, who had been travelling in our
'great lone land,' as it is called, Manitoba, and who had to spend the Sabbath with
us in Montreal, came to see the Y.M.C.A. 'Where can I get some reading matter
for to-morrow ^ ' he asked of me ; and I enquired of him, ' What kind would you
like?' 'If there is any place where Spurgeon's sermons are sold, I prefer them to
anything else,' was his reply ; so he was informed where he could get them, and
then I added, 'I have had a letter from Mr. Spurgeon himself this week.' 'You
mean from his secretary.' ' No, I mean from himself ' Do let me see it ;' so he
read it, and then he said, as he returned the letter, ' That man is a marvel. I have
got a wrinkle from that little note ; do you notice that he says, " I pray for you
at this moment" ? That is something worth remembering, — "at this moment of
174 C- ^- SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
writing-, while you are before my mind, I pause and pray for you." That is
capital ; I won't forget it.' I could give you other incidents to prove that your tiny
note was like a beam of sunlight shot athwart tried and weary hearts, because of the
love they bear you for the Master's sake.
" Oh, Mr. Spurgeon, that little word of yours, ' I am feeling rather low,' struck
a chord which still vibrates in my spirit. It was to me like reading the 42nd Psalm.
I imagine that there is nothing connected with your ministry to the saint that
comes home more tenderly to tried and stricken souls than just what you there
express, ' I am feeling low.' The great preacher, the author of T/ie Treasury
of David, the — but I need not go on, — this man sometimes, ay, often, 'feels low,'
just as they do. ' In all their affliction He was afflicted ;' this is what draws hearts
to Jesus ; and the principle, I take it, is just the same when the friends and
intimates of Jesus ' feel low.' The fellow-feeling, thus begotten, makes many
wondrous kind.
" I recently published some ' incidents ' connected with visitation at the hospital.
A gendeman came in, and asked me how much it cost me to do so. "$io,' I said.
' Well, here is a $10 bill ; print some more, I like " facts " ; theories don't go down
with me.' So I have printed another leaflet, which I enclose herewith.
" Now unto Him who can do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or
think, be glory ; and may we share m the glory even though it brings us low ! I
salute you and Mrs. Spurgeon in the Lord (Rom. xvi. 12), and remain, through the
blood which cleanseth,
" Your friend in Jesus,
"John Louson."
The leaflet enclosed by Mr. Louson contained, among other interesting matter,
" A Touching Story," in which there was the following reference to Mr. Spurgeon
and his sermons : —
*' Some months ago, a young Scotchman was admitted to the hospital. He was
suffering from an internal disease which baffled the skill of the doctors ; it was akin
to consumption, but without its distressing symptoms, yet under it the physical
frame wasted away. It was difficult for the patient to realize that he was slowly but
surely dying ; indeed, he utterly refused to believe it, even when doctors and nurses
had given up all hope. It was a delight and privilege to visit and converse with
him, for he was Christ's, and Christ was his ; and, though reticent and reserved to
an almost painful degree, yet salvation through faith in the Crucified was the theme
he most of all loved to talk about ; and, next to that, the scenery, mountains, rocks,
sunset, and storms of the beloved Isle of Skye, where he was born and brought up.
The one and only matter of reading, next to the Bible, was Charles H. Spurgeon's
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 175
sermons ; of these he never tired. Biographies of eminent Scotchmen, Hke Norman
Macleod, or WilHam Arnot, were taken to him ; but, as he put them aside, he would
say, ' Spurgeon is always the same, but always satisfying, for he makes you forget
himself as he holds up Him who is " fairer than the children of men " ' (Ps. xlv. 2)."
The following letter is interesting from the information it conveys concerning
the first publication of Mr. Spurgeon's sermon volumes and other works in the
United States : —
" 8, Murray Street,
" New York,
"Dec. 19, 1882.
" My Dear Bro. Spurgeon,
"The present seems a fitting time for me to drop you a line, after a long
and successful career as the publisher of your books in America, and I may add, as
the introducer of your sermons in book form to American readers.
"At first, it required very special attention on our part to bring them success-
fully before American readers ; but, after a while, the tide turned in favour of your
books. We made them well known in every State in our Union. We had several
valuable friends ; the late President Wayland, of Brown University, gave us
important aid by letters that we published ; so did the late Dr. Alexander, who
had been to London, and seen you, and heard you preach often with great
satisfaction. He called at our office, and made himself known in person. I had
long known him, by reputation, as a very able and distinguished divine of the
Presbyterian Church. He had noticed that some of our large daily newspapers
were attacking you very fiercely, so he came in to urge us to persevere with the
sermons. He said, ' Do not be discouraged by the unfavourable criticisms of the
press. I have seen and heard Mr. Spurgeon ; he is a real diamond that will shine
brighter and brighter as the years go by. You can use my name in any way that
will help you in the battle.' We thought it was very kind of him to say and do
what he did, for he was a good man, with very great influence, and he proved a
real help to us.
"On the other hand, we had some discouraging words. Rev. Dr. Kendrick,
the Greek Professor in the Rochester University, with which I was connected as
one of the Board of Trustees, wrote me : — ' Well, Sheldon, I am surprised that you
should lower the standard of your publishing house by issuing the sermons of that
green London preacher.' I can well afford to quote his early remarks, for he lived
to write and frequently to tell me, in a very flattering way, how much wiser I was
in discerning the signs of promise than he had been ; and he has often spoken of
you in the most complimentary manner.
176 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
" I only allude to these incidents of the past as pleasant events attending a
great and prosperous enterprise."
(The writer of the letter explained that " the Spurgeon books " had been passed
over to Messrs. Carter Brothers, that he had sent to the Pastor a complete set of
the American edition of his publications, and he concluded his letter as follows : — )
"And now, my respected brother, in taking leave of you as your publisher,
permit me to congratulate you upon the really great success that has attended the
enterprise. Very few English authors have had such prosperity ; I do not think
that any preacher and author of religious books has even begun to come up to you.
I hear, with great pleasure, of the blessing resting upon your home work, so large
and so grand in all its proportions. We feel all of a publisher's pride in our popular
and good author, and shall follow you with our loving thought to the end of your
good work.
" Yours most truly,
" Smith Sheldon."
The writer of the following note was the well-known anti-slavery lecturer,
Frederick Douglass : —
"The Cross,
"St. Neots,
" Hunts.,
"July 6, 1887.
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" While crossing the Atlantic, last September, and looking out upon its
proud dashing billows and their varied torms, and thinking of the diversity in the
human family, I remarked that ' we are many as the waves, but we are one as
the sea.' I had never heard this simile before, and thought it was original with me ;
but, while reading your sermon, published on the 30th June, I noticed that you said,
speaking of the one hundred and nineteenth Psalm, ' Its expressions are many as
the waves, but its testimony is one as the sea.' I am led to ask, — Is this a
coincidence ; or have I, unconsciously, borrowed from you, or have you borrowed
this formula from me }
"Through the kindness of a friend, I had the privilege of listening to you a few
Sundays ago. It was the realization of an ardent desire born of reading some
of your sermons in America, and of what was said to me of you by my friend. Dr.
H. L. Wayland, a gentleman to whom I have been much indebted for friendly
sympathy and advice while battling with slavery and prejudice in America.
" Very truly yours,
" Frederic^ Douglass."
C, ir. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. X'JJ
In May, 1888, at the funeral of his mother, Mr. Spurgeon took a chill, which
resulted in his being laid aside for three weeks. On Lord's-day morning, June 17,
when many of the delegates to the Exeter Hall Conference on Foreign Missions
were present at the Tabernacle, the P^istor was again able to preach, although he
was obliged, through great weakness, to sit during a considerable portion of the
sermon. Dr. A. J. Gordon, of Boston, took part in the service ; and he had also
consented to preach if Mr. Spurgeon continued too ill to do so. This arrangement
explains the allusion, in the following letter, to the "great deliverance" experienced
by Dr. Gordon himself: —
" Charing Cross Motel,
" London,
"June 19, 1888.
" My Dear Brother,
" I sincerely trust that you were in no wise injured by your effort on
Lord's-day morning. It seems to me that the Lord's help given to you then was
the most powerful commentary on your text, ' Let Him deliver him now.' Be
assured that I also experienced a great deliverance, for there were hundreds of
visitors, — our whole Missionary Conference, indeed, — who had come to hear you,
and I can conceive of no embarrassment greater than that of having to preach to
such a disappointed congregation as it must have been in your absence.
" I pray that God will graciously restore you to full health, and cause your bow
to abide in strength even when you are 'sorely grieved and shot at by the archers.'
I greatly desire, with Mrs. Gordon, to call on you for a few moments at your home.'
I should be thankful to know when we can see you. If you are too ill to desire
callers, please do not tor a moment think of my request, and I shall entirely under-
stand the reason.
" Sincerely yours,
"A. J. Gordon."
The following letter appears to be the earliest from Dr. A. T. Pierson which
Mr. Spurgeon preserved : — ■
" 2320, Spruce Street,
" Philadelphia,
"Nov. 25, 1888.
" My Best-beloved,
"If there is any man on the earth I love better than you, I wish
you could point him out. And, as a little thankoffering to God for a personal
acquaintance, I send you by my publishers — all bills paid, inclusive of expressao-e, —
fifty copies of Evangelistic Work for your Pastors' College, with my lovino-
M 4
17S c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
greetings. I am very sorry that your gout is more troublesome. How I wish and
pray that the Lord may keep you yet a score of years busy with Szuord and Troivel,
piercing to the backbone the foes of our Lord and His Crown and Covenant, and
building up the walls of Jerusalem ! Be thou very strong and courageous, my
brother ; there shall no man be able to stand before thee. There is a fearful
apostasy from the truth, — second probation, — partial inspiration, — Ritualism, — the
' Nehushtan and Ephodism ' of old times are back among us. How little Evan-
gelical preaching ! Conversion a lost art ; — worldliness so pervading the church
that the membership is now divisible into worldly holy and wholly worldly, — and
ministers into attitudinarians, latitudinarians, and platitudinarians.
"Give my love to dear Mrs. S. With many prayers for you all. I hope to see
you again in the flesh ; but, whether or not, I expect to spend eternity with you in
His presence.
" As always yours,
"Arthur T. Pierson."
Miscellaneous Letters.
Among the communications from non-ministerial friends, specially treasured by
Mr. Spurgeon, was the following letter from Miss Florence Nightingale : —
" 35, South Street,
" Park Lane, W.,
"June 30, 1876.
" Dear Sir,
" Nurse Masters, of our training school at St. Thomas's Hospital, and
who is one of a reinforcement of nurses whom we are sending out to join our
nursing staff at the Montreal Hospital, was recently admitted by you to baptism
and communion. She spoke of it to me with deep earnestness.
"It occurred to me that you might, among the young women of your flock,
know some, sound in body and mind, who would like to be trained for a hospital
nursiniz life, which has now sufficient reward, both in the Q-ood to be done and
in the maintenance to be earned, to be attractive to suitable candidates. The
harvest is ready, but the labourers still are few.
" I write under the severe pressure of business, and ever-increasing illness,
which has kept me a prisoner to my room for years, so you will excuse a briet letter.
I have heard that you are yourself frequently afflicted. May I express my deep
regret at your suffering, and my earnest hope that your life may long be spared .'*
" May God be with us all !
"Florence Nightingale."
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 179
Earl Shaftesbury's correspondence with Mr. Spurgeon was so constant, and so
voluminous, that a whole chapter might have been filled with it if space could
have been spared. This brief note will indicate the usual character of the Earl's
letters, and it will also show the esteem in which he held the Pastor, not only at
the time it was written, but right to the end of his life : —
" St. Giles's House, "^
" Cranborne,
" Salisbury,
"Oct. 20, 1876.
" My Dear Friend,
"The books have arrived in safety; and to the inscription which you,
yourself, have written, — I value it highly, — I shall add my own, — a prayer that my
descendants will cherish the volumes as the gift of a man whom their ancestor
honoured and loved as a private friend, but far more as a powerful, bold, true,
single-hearted servant of our most blessed Lord and Saviour.
" God be with you and yours for ever and ever !
"Shaftesbury."
From the same address, on Nov. 30, 1883, the Earl sent to Mr. Spurgeon a
copy of The Psalms, with Scripture IllustratioHS, accompanied by the following
letter : —
" My Dear Friend,
"God be with you to Mentone, at Mentone, and back again, and may
He give you all the health you seek for His service !
"Well may you be 'weary, and worn, and sad.' The open, avowed, boasted,
modern infidelity is terrible, but the almost universality of the Laodicean spirit is
still worse. You will come back and find that socialism, contemptuous unbelief, and
an utter disregard of anything but that which tends to make this world the ' be-all '
and the 'end-all' of our existence, have attained vastly increased proportions during
your absence.
"There is nothing for it but to preach 'Jesus Christ and Him crucified,' with
perpetual exhortation to His people to pray for His speedy return. Such a
preaching of Christ has been your main strength May God keep you in that
frame of mind !
" Put, I request you, the little book I now send you, in your pocket.
"Yours very truly,
"Shaftesbury."
" P.S. — I shall distribute largely your volume, Floivcrs from a Puritans
Garden."
I So c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
Admiral Sir W. King Hall was one of Mr. Spurgeon's most ardent admirers.
Many of his letters were preserved, and all of them bore testimony to the blessing
he had received through reading the Pastor's writings. One of the earliest in the
series was the following, written on Mr. Spurgeon's forty-fourth birthday : —
" Admiralty House,
" Sheerness,
"June 19, '78.
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" May God spare you to work in His vineyard with health and energy
many more years ! Each day I find, from your Moi'ning and Evening Readings,
encouragement, comfort, hope, and proofs of our Saviour's love. I ask your
acceptance of my photograph, and beg yours in return. Be assured that, though
my profession is one of arms, for the defence of our glorious land of liberty, my
principles are as peaceful as those held by any member of the Society of Friends.
"With kindest regards, and best wishes for your family,
" I remain,
" Your sincere friend,
" W. King Hall."
" If you want a breath of sea air at any time, come and stay with me. A day
or two's notice will suffice."
Another sailor friend, John Macgregor, Esq., who was captain and crew of the
canoe Rob Roy, and also honorary secretary of the Open Air Mission, wrote as
follows in one of his many letters to the Pastor : —
" 7, Vanbrugh Park East,
" Blackheath,
" Aug. 24, '78.
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" I promised to tell you that a word of yours would be golden on Oct. 28,
when our open-air preachers assemble. You will see that some of us propose to
meet on Monday. That, however, is for garden and green fields ; the other meeting
must be under a root.
"As for myself, I am in the furnace of domestic affliction; but the Refiner
is looking on.
"The stucco pilasters on the edifice of one's life are cracked and shaken off
but the rock they rested on is found sure, even in an earthquake.
" Who would hke to choose his trial } Even David, when forced to do so,
chose to fall into the hands of the Lord, and are we not there already }
" I needed much affliction, as I had none at all of it ; and that is not healthy.
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAniY. l8l
But God makes me wonder why the blow is sent to my dear wife, unless it is that I
feel it the more, and she suffers the less, than if it had been personally mine.
" Yours ever,
"J. Macgregor."
At the Stockwell Orphanage Festival, in June, 1S79, Sir Charles Reed
presided. In reply to Mr, Spurgeon's letter inviting him to occupy that position,
he wrote : — " I am very full of work ; but, in common with all London, I feel so
grateful for your personal piety, and your personal efforts, that I cannot say ' Nay.'
How honoured I feel to be stitched up in a brown cover with such a ' man of mark'
as C. H. S. ! " The allusion was to the current issue of Men of Mark, in which
Mr. Spurgeon and Sir Charles were included.
Later in the year, when the Pastor was ill at Mentone, he received this
sorrowful letter from his friend : —
" Hotel Fleuri,
" Cannes,
" Dec. 18, 1879.
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" I have been trying to make my way over to see you ; but my doctor
has laid such restrictions upon me, that my only available time (10 to 4) does not
permit of so great a journey. I want, however, to have an assurance that you are
better ; for, in a French paper, I saw a poor account of your health.
"A winter away from home is a new experience to me, and an idle winter is by
no means easy to endure. However, I am trying to obey the voice which says, ' Be
still ; ' and if the Lord wills, I hope for another decade of work in the field in which
He has permitted me, thus far, to labour.
" I suppose you do not preach at all at Mentone ; that is, from the pulpit.
You do, I know, by your pen ; and if, at this Christmas time, you feel prompted to
comfort a stricken heart, let me be the object of your philanthropy. On the 19th of
June, I was with you ; on the 8th of July, we lost our dear son, and we have never
yet recovered his body. This stroke broke down our health and drove us from
home.
" Yours truly,
" Charles Reed."
Sir Charles Reed's hope that he might be spared to labour for another ten years
was not realized, for he was called to higher service in les« than sixteen months from
that time. The brief note from him, printed on the next page, bears in one
corner this inscription: — "Delivered to me after the decease of the writer, April 8,
1881. — C. H. Spurgeon."
1 82 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
" House of Commons.
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" Could you receive a father and son, on Bible Society business, if they
called on you on Tuesday next at about noon? My son, who is the secretary of the
Society, thinks that, as a vice-president, I could aid him in an application he is
commissioned to make.
" Yours truly,
" Charles Reed."
The following letters came from the widow of General Havelock ; the son
referred to in them was himself a personal friend of Mr. Spurgeon's, and was the
chairman at the first public meeting held in the Tabernacle :■ —
" 14, Kensington Park Gardens, \V.,
" October 7, 1881.
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon^
"You may not have heard how very ill my beloved son. Sir Henry, has
been. He is suffering from congestion of the brain, brought on by over- work,
exposure, and fatigue. We are most thankful to say that the doctors report that the
worst seems past, though it will probably be a long time before he can be well again.
" His sister and I will feel very thankful if you will remember him in your
public and private prayers. His life has ever been devoted to doing acts of
kindness for others ; and you know how precious he is to us all. We should like
him to be prayed for, every Simday, for some time to come. We know that his
father's God is very near him now in this deep trouble.
"With kind regards to Mrs. Spurgeon, I am,
" Very sincerely yours,
" H. S. Havelock."
Sir Henry's recovery was much more rapid than his mother had anticipated ;
and on October 22, Lady Havelock was able to write : —
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" I shall feel glad if you will tell your dear people that God has been
pleased to hear our prayers, and has once more restored my dear son. Sir Henry,
I will not say quite to his usual strength, but so far towards it as to give us great
hopes that, with care and rest for some weeks, he may be better than ever before.
Will you give thanks for us, as a family, at your public se^^vice to-morrow, and pray
that a larger blessing than ever may rest upon us, and bring us all nearer to Him to
whom we owe so much ?
" With our kind regards to Mrs. Spurgeon, I am,
" Sincerely yours,
" Hannah S. Havelock."
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography. 183
Many letters passed between Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Spurgeon,— " the two
prime ministers," as they were often called. Again and again, the Premier invited
his Nonconformist friend to meet a congenial company at breakfast or dinner in
Downing Street ; but there was always some obstacle in the way, and pressure
of work or illness prevented Mr. Spurgeon from accepting a very cordial invitation
to stay at Hawarden Castle. Whenever the newspapers contained an intimation
that the Pastor was laid aside, a special messenger from the First Lord of the
Treasury was sent with a letter of sympathy or kind enquiries for the sufferer.
Mr. Gladstone had long wished to attend a service at the Tabernacle, and the
following letters show how the wish at last assumed a definite shape, and was
carried into effect : — -
" 10, Downing Street,
"Whitehall,
" 24 August, 1881.
" My Dear Sir,
" I thank you very much for your kind note and your good words. My
years make it a great object of desire to be relieved from my present work ; but
I must be patient yet a little while, and must hope that I may not be utterly spoiled
by the undeserved kindness heaped on me from so many quarters, and by com-
mendations entirely beyond my deserts.
" I hope the autumn will afford me an opportunity of profiting by your kind
offer to meet my wishes respecting the service at the Tabernacle.
" I remain,
" My dear sir,
" Faithfully yours,
"Rev. C. H. Spurgeon." " W. E. Gladstone."
" Hawarden Castle,
Chester,
"Jan. 3, '82.
" My Dear Sir,
"Some time ago, you were good enough to promise me a safe seat
at one of your services : and if it consist with your convenience to do me this favour
on Sunday evening next, when I expect to be in London, I shall hope to present
myself at the exact time and place which you may kindly name. Should you desire
to postpone your compliance with my request, I shall hope for another opportunity
of preferring it three or four Sundays hence. I remain,
" My dear sir,
" Faithfully yours,
" Rev. C. H. Spurgeon." " W. E. Gladstone."
184 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
On the evening of January 8, the Premier and his eldest son attended the
Tabernacle, and Mr. Spurgeon preached from Mark v. 30, 31. The Editors and
correspondents of various newspapers referred at length to the incident, and some
of the comments were anything but kind or even courteous. A few days later,
Mr. Spurgeon, in sending the volume of views of " Westwood " to Mr. Gladstone,
expressed his regret at the tone of some of the articles ; and, in reply, he received
photographs of Hawarden Castle and the Premier in his study,, with this letter : — -
" Hawarden Castle,
" Chester,
" Jan. 16, '82.
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" I was not at all surprised at what happened, and had not the smallest
disposition or cause to suspect you. My life is passed in a glass bee-hive : with this
particularity, that I fear many see in it what is not there, by which I am unjustly a
gainer.
" I thank you very much for the interesting book of photographs which you
have been so good as to send, with an inscription I am very far from deserving. I
wish I had a better return to make than the enclosed ; but these are the best I can
lay my hands on.
" When you were so good as to see me before and after your service, I felt
ashamed of speaking to you lest I should increase your fatigue, but before very long
I hope to find a better opportunity. In the meantime, I remain,
" With sincere respect,
" Faithfully yours,
" W. E. Gladstone."
Mr. Spurgeon was, as the writer of this letter anticipated, much gratified at the
information it contained : —
" 13, St. George's Terrace,
"Gloucester Road, S.W.,
" March 23, 1882.
" Dear Sir,
" I think it will be gratifying to you to know that, at St. Stephen's
Church, Gloucester Road (which is generally supposed to be what is termed ' very
high '), each Thursday afternoon during Lent there have been devotional readings,
consistmg of extracts from the works of various living divines.
"The readmg, this afternoon, was from a sermon preached by you, fourteen or
fifteen years ago, from the text, ' What if thy father answer thee roughly ? ' The
greater part of the discourse was read from the pulpit by the junior curate.
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
i«5
LORD TENNYSON.
EARL OF BEACONSFIELD.
THOMAS CARLYLE.
Silhouettes of Celebrities.
(Published in The Boy's Own Paper, October g, 1880.)
1 86 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
"It was very pleasing- to me to observe such an exercise of liberty, in the
Church of England, as to place your views before the congregation for their
acceptance and meditation, and I feel that you will be pleased by my making you
acquainted with the fact. Trusting your health is now much improved,
" I remain,
" Yours obediently,
" Alfred Williams."
Out of a very large number of letters to Mr. Spurgeon from Lord Radstock,
the following" has been selected because of the special object with which it was
written : —
" St. Petersburg,
"ii/4/'82.
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" The Baptists in South Russia, who are, I believe, nearly all close-
communionists, are to have a great Conference in May as to whether they should not
open their doors to the Lord s children in general. It is deeply important that they
should decide aright. There .are many thousands of Christians in South Russia
among the Molokans and Stundists, and it is most desirable, on all accounts, that
they should be as united as possible. Will you write a letter to them, addressed to
Pastor Liebig, Odessa, •encouraging them to take the true ground of union in
the Lord's Name, at any rate as regards receiving Christians at the Lord's table .'*
" Here, we are going on quietly, in spite of difficulties. You would be
rejoiced at the faith and love shown by some in the highest class here. Continue
in prayer for this land, with thanksgiving. The fields are white unto the harvest,
but the labourers are so few and shackled ; — yet ' He must reign.'
" Ever yours in the Lord,
" Radstock."
Mr. Spurgeon was often asked to address special classes of hearers. The
following letter relates to the invitation given to him to speak to the London
medical students : —
"45, Inverness Terrace,
" Hyde Park, W.,
" Sept. 24, 'S^.
" My Dear Sir,
" Although I am not known to you, you may probably remember my
name in connection with Leamington, where my father, Mr. Thorne, at the Bank,
once had the pleasure of receiving you as his guest.
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRArHY. 1 87
" My object in now writing is to express the great gratification which I feel, as
President of the Medical Prayer Union for 1883-4, t'^^t you have expressed your
willingness to say a few words to the students at the annual meeting on Friday,
26th of October. I do sincerely pray that your health may enable you to come; and,
in the meantime, I may assure you that the occasion will be worthy of your
presence, for it is one when many a young man may decide whether he will
commence his career as a disciple of Christ or not. An appeal from you will, under
God's guidance, materially influence some in their decision.
" Again hoping that we may see you on the occasion in question,
' I am,
" Sincerely yours,
" R. Thorne Thorne."
The meeting was held, in due course, at the Lower Exeter Hall, and proved to
be a most profitable one. A somewhat similar "gathering was the one held at the
Egyptian Hall of the Mansion House, under the presidency of the Lord Mayor, on
September 28, 1885, when Mr. Spurgeon addressed the members of the London
Banks' Prayer Union, taking for his subject the words, "Seek ye first the Kingdom
of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
The address was worthy of the notable audience assembled to listen to it, and it was
afterwards published under the title, " First Things First."
Mr. T. A. Denny did not often write to Mr. Spurgeon, but saw him at the
Tabernacle or at " Westwood " as frequently as he could. This characteristic note
will show the esteem in which he held the Pastor : —
"7, Connaught Place, W.,
" Feb. 14, 1884.
" My Dear Friend,
" How exceedingly kind of you to send me that beautiful book. The
Metropolitan Tabernacle and its Institutions ; but greatly more I value the
inscription, of which I feel myself all unworthy, but not the less proud.
" How I should like, by-and-by, to walk up and down the streets of the New
Jerusalem arm-in-arm between you and dear Moody!
"With affectionate regards,
" I am,
" Yours ever sincerely,
" T. A. Denny."
Mr. Thomas Blake, M.P., was another intimate friend of Mr. Spurgeon's, who
1 88 C. H. SrURGEON's AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
attended the Tabernacle services whenever it was possible. On Lord's-day
morning, June 12, 1SS7, he was present, and listened to the Pastor's sermon from
Deut. XXX. II — 14, which was afterwards published under the title, "Plain Gospel
for Plain People." The same night, he wrote the following- letter : —
" Reform Club,
" Pall Mall, S.W.,
"June 12, '87, 9.30 p.m.
" My Dear Brother,
" Let me thank you for your golden pot of manna this morning, sweeter
than honey and the honeycomb. I feast upon it weekly, all the year round ; but
it is, if possible, more delicious when it enters the mind and heart by way of
' Ear-gate ' than by way of ' Eye-gate.'
" I asked a number of members of Parliament, present yesterday at Portsmouth,
to come to the Tabernacle this morning. One I brought. He was much impressed,
and I pray that our God may make your sermon to be the message of life to him
and to many others. ...
"In a few weeks, I intend to resign my seat in Parliament, — one procured
without paid agency of any kind, and which I might hold as long as. life and health
permitted. It deprives me of higher service, and work I love more. This is my
only reason for giving it up. With the night and day work in the House of
Commons, all my ' Lord's-days ' are required for rest. This must not longer be.
" With much love, believe me,
"Always truly yours,
- "Thos. Blake."
The members of Parliament, mentioned in Mr. Blake's letter, had gone to
Portsmouth to witness the naval demonstration in connection with the Queen's
Jubilee. About that period, The ]]liitehalL Review published the "Jubilee
Reverie " reproduced on the opposite page. Mr. Spurgeon's portrait — not a very
good one, — is at the top, on the right hand, facing Archbishop Benson's.
The latter part of this letter from Mr. (now. Sir) George Williams refers to
Mr. Spurgeon's engagement to speak, in Exeter Hall, at the forty-fifth annual
meeting of the Central Y.M.C.A., on Friday evening, May 24, 1889 : —
"71, St. Paul's Church Yard,
" London,
"May 23rd, 1889.
" My Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
"Thank you very much for so kindly sending for my acceptance the
1 89
A JUBILEE REVERIE.
190 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Out lilies of the Lorifs TFoi'/c in connection zvith the Pastors College. It is not
necessary for me to repeat iny assurances of prayerful sympathy and interest, for
vou know you have these ; — but if my hopes for your usefulness, and the spiritual
success of your manifold labours, are fulfilled, your joy will indeed be full.
"We are anticipating, with supreme pleasure, seeing- you to-morrow evening,
and are praying" that the Master Himself may give you some special word, that may
be productive ot abundant spiritual fruitfulness.
" Believe me,
" Yours ever truly,
"George Williams."
That prayer was abundantly answered, and the Lord's help to His servant was
so graciously manifested that the address proved to be one of Mr. Spurgeon's most
memorable utterances.
This note, from smother of the Pastor's special friends, gives just an indication
of its power and usefulness : —
" Beckenham,
" May 25th, 1S89.
" My Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
"Thanks be unto God on your behalf! You were wondrously helped
last night. The Lord stood by you, and strengthened you. Your words were wise
and right words ; and they will live, and be wafted to the ends of the earth.
"The kind and loving sympathy, with which you were received, was very
cheering and helpful. God bless you to-morrow, and all days !
"Yours very truly,
" Samuel Thompson."
Probably Mr. Spurgeon never addressed any great public gathering under
such painful conditions as when he spoke, in the Albert Hall, on June 11, 1S90,
at the annual meeting of Dr. Barnardo's Homes. He was very ill at the time ;
in fact, he ought to have been in bed rather than on the platform ; and the
sight of the cripples and other waifs and strays so affected his sympathetic heart
that he was utterly broken clown, and felt more inclined to weep than to speak ;
yet he did plead powerfully for the poor children, and perhaps his words had all
the greater weight because many in the audience could tell at least something of
the suffering he was himself enduring. On his return home, he was completely
exhausted. Dr. Barnardo's letter shows how grateful he was for the Pastor's aid
under such trying circumstances, and it also indicates his natural anxiety as to
the consequences of the service thus rendered to him : —
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography. 191
" Scepney Causeway,
" London, E.,
" I 2th June, 1890.
" Dear Mrs. Spurgeon,
" I write to yoii, rather than to your dear husband, for I cannot but
fear that his presence and the exertion made at our meeting, last night, may have
resulted unfavourably to him ; and I would not add another single straw to the
burden of pain and weariness which, it may be, he is suffering from to-day.
" Nevertheless, I dare not leave this letter unwritten, and so consider it
wisest and best to write to you, to tell you how deeply, how unutterably grateful
I am to dear Mr. Spurgeon for his presence, for his weighty, loving, gracious,
wise words, and for the tender sympathy he showed to and for my bairns. I
never can forget the debt he has placed me under. All I can now say is this,
that I do, from the depths of my heart, thank him. While he spoke, I could
but afresh thank God and take courage. No words, uttered last night, fell on
my own spirit so like water upon the thirsty ground as did those of dear Mr.
Spurgeon. I was cheered, helped, encouraged, lifted up, soothed, and comforted.
I could but say, from my heart of he-arts, a hundred times, ' God bless hwi f ' and
now I say it to your ears, which I am sure will not be unwilling to hear
that prayer, even from one so unworthy as I am, for him you love so well. The
sight of the dear servant of the Lord there, last night, in all his obvious,
manifest weakness, was in itself a sermon, even if no words had been uttered
by him.
" But I must not go on ; this much only I will say. First, he must never
again talk of being in my debt. Dear Mr. Spurgeon has paid that debt, it it
ever existed, over and over again. Second, I must be careful never again, under
any circumstances, to ask at his hands so great a service as he rendered us
last night, — unless in the years (bright and happy, which I hope are) still in
store for him, God, in His goodness, may give him back so large a share of health
and strength that he may be rather pleased to come to us than otherwise. If
such an hour arrives, then indeed I may break the pledge I now give ; but,
otherwise, I will not dare again to overtax, as we did last night, the loving,
tender heart and weary, weakened body of your dear husband.
"And lastly, let me add this, that anything I can do now, or at any time,
anything that lies in my poor power, that my children, my assistants, or any ot
us can do for Mr. Spurgeon, or his work, or for anyone dear to him, I will count
it a privilege and an honour to do ; and I can but hope that the time may soon come
when Mr. Spurgeon will feel the necessity for putting this sincerely offered pledge
to the test.
192 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
" I do earnestly hope you are yourself sustained in fair health, and in great
peace and comtort of mind. As we could not hope to see you at our meeting, last
night, I may venture to enclose you, as a souvenir of the occasion, two of the
programmes then in use. They may help, perhaps, to bring before you a little
of what those who were there saw ; and I know it is possible they may excite in you
some prayerful thought for the thousands of young folk under my care.
" Believe me to be,
" Dear Mrs. Spurgeon,
"Gratefully and faithfully yours,
" Thos. J. Barnardo."
One of the letters written to cheer Mr. Spurgeon in that season of suffering
came from Bishop Richardson, of the Reformed Episcopal Church, and was as
follows : —
" 27, Belgrave Road,
" St. John's Wood,
" 14 June, 1890.
" My Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
"I see that, at Dr. Barnardo's meeting, you said you were 'as ill as
possible.' God bless you ! You have probably done more good than any man
of your generation, and it has pleased the Master to keep you humble. You will
be ivell, some day. We love the same dear Master, and will say 'Welcome' to one
another where no one feels 'as ill as he can be.'
" Your faithful friend,
" Alfred S. Richardson, Bishop."
Only a few days after that great meeting at the Albert Hall, Mr. Spurgeon was
at the Mildmay Conference Hall, and there delivered another of his most memorable
addresses. The subject of it was, " Christ our Leader in Darkness " ; and it has
been exceedingly helpful to the children of God who, for various reasons, have been
caused to walk in the dark. He was still so far from well that there was great
uncertainty as to whether he would be able to be present ; and in reply to a note
Irom him, to that effect, Colonel Morton wrote : —
"Conference Hall,
" Mildmay Park,
" London N.,
"17 June, 1890.
*' Dear and Honoured Mr. Spurgeon,
" I may safely say that all Mildmay deeply regrets, with me, your
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 193
present indisposition ; and we, in the office here, commenced this day's work by-
praying for you, and by asking- God to glorify Himself at the coming Conference,
either by your presence or your absence ; — in either case, giving you a rich
blessing.
"Should we not be permitted to have you with us, Dr. Andrew Bonar would
be the first speaker, and your place would be taken by Mr. Frank White. He has
consented to be your ' reserve ' in case of need, and I have to-day forwarded your
letter to him for perusal. So please do not feel under the slightest restraint, or
be careful or anxious at the possibility of disappointing us at the Conference. If we
cannot get plums, we must be thankful and grateful for good sound bread !
" Allow me, very late in the day, to thank you for the numberless times you
have refreshed, and strengthened, and comforted us soldiers, who, often in India and
other countries, on the line of march, hundreds of miles from any place of worship,
or means of grace (in the ordinary sense of the word), have met under trees, some
little distance from camp, and have, after prayer and hymns, introduced you as our
preacher. We had a large Bible-class in my regiment, in those days, and many
a blessing has been entreated upon you by those dear fellows.
"Your sermon, 'In the Garden with Him,' was my companion, quite lately,
when going up Monte Pelegrino, near Palermo, en route from Malta to England.
In what stray corners of the wide world, where soldiers and sailors are, do you not
come, and bring messages of God's love and truth ?
" I have long wished to thank you, as hundreds of others would wish to do ;
and here is my opportunity. May God increasingly bless you !
" Very sincerely yours,
" R. Morton, Colonel."
Mr. Spurgeon received many letters in German ; they were all passed on to a
lady who was a member of the Tabernacle Church, and who translated a great
number of the Pastor's sermons and other works into that language. One of
them contained some information which greatly interested him. The translator
wrote : — " This letter is from a German Baptist colporteur in Wurtemberg. He
says that he has sold many of your books, which have been a blessing to him
and to many other readers of them. . . . The Empress of Germany has bought
from him your Deiv Pearls and Gold Bearns [Morning by Morning and Evening by
Evening in the German translation), and John Ploughman s Talk. I wonder how
she likes John Ploiighman. I believe, very well, because of the contrast it affords
from the language of her courtiers."
Not only did Mr. Spurgeon have a large number of communications written in
other foreign languages, but, at various times, he received numerous letters which he
N 4
194 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
regarded as literary curiosities. Many, which were supposed to be in EngHsh,
were veritable hieroglyphs, most difficult to decipher, though the meaning of them
was generally made out somehow or other, and answers despatched to those from
whom they came.
The three following epistles were carefully preserved by Mr. Spurgeon, in
the envelope in which one of them came, which was addressed thus (intended for
Nightingale Lane, Clapham) : —
Rev C Sh Spurgeon '
Eglelane claping
road
London.
They are here reproduced, verbatim et literatim, with the exception of the
names and addresses of the writers, or anything which might give a clue to their
identification : —
"Sir
" VViw You Obige me by Forewarding 6 pennyworth of your poterites
as I am a yong Man a lite Complection Brown hare neither tall nor peturcular short
Will you please to send me some of the Likensse of the yong woman as I have got
to Marry and When I have got to see and Marry her Foreward as quick as Posable
I have got Dark Blue eyes age is about 29 to thirty on the first day of december
Bornd about one oclock in the Mornino-.
" Rite as soon as you Can."
" Mas Spurgeon
" My age is 20 yers old.
" Dea sir as a young Man trusting in a risinang Severe converter by his
Quiking power and being Baptised by The Reb , Chapel — ~ and as
i have ben working for the Lord and Master Jesus Christ for tow yers and is for yers
since i was converted and as i Am a homless child and a orpent as it is 11 yers since
my Father and Mother died and 3 broters and a sister therefor i was left frindless
and homeless therefore i had to botle on my seife but it has put me throu dep
exprence but God has blist me abundantly fore it makes me wep when i think of his
godness to me therefore i would weish to be a servent for the Lord if it is the mana
of him and if i am wone of his eleked chilain to serve him at hom or abrod
" Plese Sir retern a nancer as i would like to get mor lering your plesur i wil
aad no more
" but ramain your
" abudent Servent
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
195
The words italicized in the following letter were underlined by Mr. Spurgeon
in the original : —
"Mr. Spurgeon,
" Dear Sir,
" I take the liberty in writeing to you ; knowing you are one in pro-
claiming God work in Jesus: I have sent you a book I have rote out my silf:
It is fully my own thoughts. Took from the bible : / am happy to say I had a
Born again about three years ago. It zvas very deep in deed. I have allways been
one to believe in God : But about 3 or 4 years ago I had thoughts that there
must be some thing in that being born again. .S^^ / prayed very heartly to God
for a born again : But it did not come by the first prayer or the next and I
allmost thonght it zvas no zLse praying: Bztt I prayed on and it came at last:
and I saw afterwards : It was the best time it could of come : as my thoughts
at that time was more free to receive it : at that time I new not any thino-
in the true light of the work of Jesus :
" God has blessed me very much in giving me enlightment on his great
work as Jesus : It has been my very life sinch that Born again in procliming
the work of Jesus : I could bring forword hundreds to show how I love to
show God's love and mercy to man. And I am happy to say I have seen the
true born again Though a few words I have spoken : I have a very good
character as a hard working man : my wage is two and twenty shillings a week.
But I should very much like to have my full time : In procliming the work of
Jesus : as Scripture reader. Or some thing like. My age 'i^^s- ^ ^^^i married
and have three children.
" Dear Sir I thought as you was so will known, you would be the best one
to write to. I have sent you the character I had for the situation I am still
in : Dear Sir / should be very please if you zvould have the zvords in the book
printed : But if you zvould kindly send the Book back and the character
" Yours truly
ENTl-LANXE TO DR. BENNET'S GARDEN, MENTONE.
CHAPTER XCV.
Kit tijt Sunnu Soutlj.
I do not think any human being upon earth ever felt so much repose of soul and body as I do.
Many years of toil are all rewarded Ijy this blessed rest, which only seems too good to be true. I have
no task work, and do more voluntarily, as a recreation, than I have often done of obligation. No idle
tongues disturb me, or cares molest me. The burden is taken from the shoulder, and the bit from
between the jaws. If anything can make me young and strong again, this will. It is rest of a sort
which I never knew before in all its forms; for, at other times, pain, or dulness, or too much company,
has made it less enjoyable. I rest on the wing, as the swallow is said to do.— C. H. S., in letter from
Mentone, written in 1882.
Up in Dr. Benuet's garden, when Harrald read me the following lines, I adopted them
as my own : —
" O days of heaven, and nights of equal praise.
Serene and peaceful as those heavenly days,
When souls drawn upward in communion sweet
Enjoy the stillness of some close retreat,
Discourse as if released, and safe at home.
Of dangers past, and wonders yet to come.
And spread the sacred treasures of the breast
Upon the lap of covenanted rest."
]T would have been easy to fill a volume with the account of Mr.
Spurgeon's experiences in the sunny South, but the many other
interesting- portions of his wondrously full life make it needful to
condense into two chapters the record of about twenty annual
visits to the Riviera. He was fairly familiar with most of the
favourite resorts on that part of the Mediterranean shore, and he
occasionally made a short stay at one or other of them ; but Mentone was the place
he loved beyond all the rest. Sometimes, after going elsewhere for a chanoe of
scene, a few days sufficed for the enjoyment of the beauties and charms of the new
region, and then he would say, " I think we will hasten on to Mentone." On
settling down in his old quarters, he generally exclaimed, with a sigh of relief, " Ah !
now 1 feel at home."
Mr. Spurgeon's first visit to the Riviera was made before the railway had been
completed along the coast ; and he used often to describe to his travellino-
companions, in later days, the delights of driving- from Marseilles to Genoa, and so
bemg able to see, under the most favourable conditions, some ot the loveliest views
on the face of the earth. On that journey, one incident occurred which was quite
unique in the Pastor's experience. While staying for a few days at Nice, he received
a letter from the captain of the Alabama, an American man-of war lying in the
harbour of Villefranche, inviting him to pay a visit to that vessel. On acceptino- the
1 98
C. H, STURGEON S AUTOBIOCxRAPHY,
invitation, a very pleasant time was spent on board, and then the captain asked
Mr. Spurgeon to come another day, and preach to his officers and men, and to those
of a second man-of-war which was stationed not far off. Though the preacher was
out for a hohday, he gladly availed himself of the opportunity of conducting the
service desired ; and after it was over, he chatted for some time with a number of his
sailor hearers. Amongst them, he found one who, when a boy, had been in
Newington Sunday-school, and whose uncle was a member at the Tabernacle, and
another who, as a lad, ran away from his home at Dulwich. Several different
nationalities were represented, and a good many Roman Catholics were there ; but
all seemed exceedingly pleased to listen to the gospel message, and Mr. Spurgeon
said that he did not know that he had ever enjoyed preaching more than he did on
that occasion, and that he should, ever afterwards, reckon himself an honorary
chaplain of the United States Navv.
U. S. S. ALABAMA IN VILLEFRANCHE HARBOUR.
Tidings of the service at Villefranche probably reached other American vessels,
for, several years later, when the U. S. S. Trenion, the flagship of the European
squadron, was at Gravesend, the chaplain wrote to Mr. Spurgeon: — "Could it be
possible for you, amid your abundant labours, to come down some day, and address
our officers and men, it would be esteemed a great favour, and I know it would be
the means of doing- incalculable good. All through the cruise, it has been mv desire
that the ship might go to some port in your vicinity, hoping thereby that you might
oblige us with a visit." The Pastor was unable to accede to the request so kindly
conveyed, but he fully appreciated the honour, and perhaps all the more because he
was never invited to preach on board a British man-of-war.
One of the travelling companions on the first visit to the Riviera was the
C. H. SrURGEON S AUTOBIOG RArilY.
199
Pastor's friend, deacon, and publisher, Mr. Joseph Passmore ; and he was usually
a member of the litde company who gathered at Mentone year by year ;
though, latterly, his partner, Mr. James Alabaster, had the joy of taking his
turn at holiday-making with the author whose works he had so long published.
THE MENTONE GROUP, IJ
In 1879, Mr. Harrald went for the first time; and, from that year, until the
never-to-be-forgotten last visit of 1891 — 2, he was only absent twice, when his
services seemed more urgently required at home. The accompanying reproduc-
tion of a photograph taken at Mentone, in 1880, contains the portraits of
Mr. Spurgeon, Mr. Passmore, Mr. Harrald, "Old George," and " Father Abraham,"
200 C. H. SPURGEON's AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
whom the Pastor always called his Oxfordshire deacon. Beside Mr. Passmore.
the Tabernacle deacons who stayed at Mentone with Mr. Spurgeon were
Mr. W. Hio-gs, senr., Mr. T. Greenwood, Mr. C. F. Allison, Mr. W. Higgs, and
Mr. F. Thompson.
Mr. Spurgeon otten quoted one ot "Father Abraham's" sayings, "I don't
believe any other three men in Mentone have done as much work as we three
have done to-day." The speaker's share of the work consisted in sitting quite
still, and reading the newspaper or one of the many interesting books which
always formed part of the Pastor's travelling equipment.
It has been already intimated that the season of rest was by no means a
time of idleness ; some friends even hinted that there was too much labour,
and too little relaxation. The quotations at the beginning of the present chapter
give the chief worker's own view of the matter in 1882 ; and a few more
extracts from his letters of the same period will furnish details of the manner
in which some of his days of holiday were pleasantly and profitably spent : —
" I went up to Dr. Bennet's garden at 1 1 o'clock, and remained there alone
with Harrald till 3.30. He read to me, and then I dictated to him, changing
to a talk, a walk, a pun, some fun, aad then reading and speechifying again,
the electric shorthand botding all up for future use. I did enjoy it, though the
mistral blew savagely. We were in a corner of the kiosque, out of all the wind,
and yet in the open air, with mountains, and sea, and garden all around. No
one disturbed us ; it was the beau ideal of an artistic author's studio."
" Harrald read to me, yesterday. The Life of CromweI/,~grd.nd, soul-
inspiring. How the man trusted in the Lord! How sweet is the life of faith,
and how splendid are its triumphs ! I would live equally above joys and sorrows,
and find my all in the Lord Himself"
" It came on to blow, so Harrald and I resorted to Dr. Bennet's garden from
10 to 3, having a grand read all alone till about 2 o'clock, and then admitting the
other friends to be silent disciples among us. I gathered sheaves of texts for
sermons, and a few subjects for articles, and had a very happy day. The wind
blew in hurricanes, but we sat with a wall at our backs, and the sun shining upon
our faces. Trees were bending in the gale, and the swift ships were flying across
the main ; but we had a hiding-place from the wind, and sat therein with comfort."
Mr. Spurgeon never saw cyclamen growing anywhere without recalling an
amusing incident which happened in Dr. Bennet's garden at the time when visitors
were freely welcomed there in the morning. The Pastor and his secretary had
found a sheltered spot where they were completely hidden from view, and during
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
20I
one of the pauses in the reading or dictating, they were greatly interested in hearing
a young lady, quite near them, exclaim, in unmistakable Transatlantic tones, " O
mother, du come here ! There are some lovely sickly men (cyclamen) just here. I
du love sickly men ! " Perhaps the speaker would not have been quite so
enthusiastic if she had been aware of the proximity of the English listeners who
mischievously gave to her words a meaning she never intended them to convey.
SARACENIC TOWER IN DR. BENNET S GARDEN.
When Dr. Bennet restored the Saracenic tower here represented, he placed it
at the disposal of Mr. Spurgeon, who at once availed himself of such a delightful
retreat. Perched up so high above the sea, the view all around was indescribably
lovely, while, by turning the key in the lock, absolute immunity from intruders was
secured ; and, as the result, some of the brightest of the articles in The Sword and
202
C. H. SrURGEON S AUTOBIOGRArHY.
the Troivel were here written or dictated, and some of the choicest sermons in
The j\lct]-opolitan Tabernacle Pulpit were here composed, at least in outhne.
Only a short distance away from this tower, and perched on the very edge of the
cliff overhanging the sea, stands the Italian guard-house which Mr. Spurgeon had
ITALIAN GUARD-HOUSE, NEAR RIENTONE.
to pass every time he went to see his friend, Mr. Thomas Hanbury, at the Palazzo
Orengo, La Mortola. The Pastor often told the story of an incident that happened
within this building. In the days when the phylloxera was committing such deadly
havoc among the vines of France and Italy, the two countries tried to prevent its
further spread by forbidding the transport of fruit, flowers, shrubs, etc., from one
land to the other. It was a foolish and useless regulation, for the phylloxera was
already in possession of both sides of the frontier ; and it led to many amusing
scenes. One day, Mr. Spurgeon was going, with a party of friends, for a picnic ;
and, amongst the articles under his charge, were a couple of oranges. He under-
stood sufficient Italian to comprehend that the fruit could not be allowed to pass ;
but his ready wit suggested the best way out of the difficulty, so he walked into the
soldiers' room, peeled the oranges, carefully putting all the peel into the fire, and ate ,
them, to the great amusement of the defenders of the crown rights of the King of
Italy ! As the story has been published in various papers and books, Mr. Spurgeon
is represented as having " stepped back, five or six paces, into France," in order to
defy the Italian guards ; whereas, at the time, he was probably one or two hundred
yards beyond the boundaries of the Republic.
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
20-
Dr. Bennet's garden was not the only open-air study that Mr. Spurgeon had at
Mentone. In the accompanying illustration, it is easy to pick out the line of
THE CHALET DES HOSIERS AND CYPRESS WALK, MENTONE.
cypresses running through the dense masses ot olive trees at the back of the Chalet
des Rosiers, the Swiss villa where Queen Victoria stayed when at Mentone. That
cypress walk led up to one of the numerous quiet nooks where the Pastor and his
secretary spent many a delightful day. They started from the hotel soon after the
little company of friends, who had gathered for morning prayer, had dispersed, and
if the weather was favourable for a long stay out of doors, they carried the materials
for a light lunch with them, a waterproof rug to spread on the ground to ward off
rheumatism, — and some books, of course, generally including a volume of Brooks, or
Manton, or some other Puritan divine, with a biography or something that would
make a variety in the reading. The reader had to pause, every now and then, to jot
down texts that struck the attentive listener as being suggestive, or to preserve, by
means of phonography, any happy and helpful thoughts that might be of service in
after days. Sometimes, the dictation would only be sufficient for a paragraph or
two, and then the reading would be resumed ; on other occasions, a whole article for
the magazine would be ready for transcription before the return journey to the hotel.
204
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRArilY.
A large part of The Clue of the Maze, and several of the Ilhistratioiis and
JMcditations, or, F/ozvers from a Puritaiis Garden, were thus written at another
retired spot not far from the cypress walk. A good idea of the kind of place
that was usually selected tor this purpose can be conveyed by the view that one of
the Pastor's friends took for him, and most appropriately entitled "A Pretty Peep."
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A PRETTY PEEP, MENTONE.
Occasionally, the time devoted to reading in the open air was spent in one of
the many lovely valleys by which Mentone is surrounded. Mr. Spurgeon never
forgot one experience which he had in the portion of the Gorbio valley represented
in the illustration on the opposite page, and concerning which he wrote : —
" In this valley I have spent many a happy day, just climbing to any terrace I
preferred, and sitting down to read. I once left Manton .on Psalm CXIX. by the
roadside, and before the next morning it was returned to me. Here, too, on
Christmas-day, 1879, I learned what it is to 'Walk in the Light.' I had been ill with
gout ; and, on recovering, arranged to drive up this valley as far as the road would
serve, and then send away the carriage, walk further on, have our lunch, and, in the
afternoon, walk gently back to the spot where we left the conveyance, the man
having orders to be there again by three. Alas ! I had forgotten that, as far as the
upper portion of the valley is concerned, the sun was gone soon after twelve !
H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
20:
I found myself in the shade before lunch was over, and shade meant sharp frost ; for,
wherever the sun had not shone, the earth was frozen hard as a rock. To be caught
in this cold, would mean a long illness for me ; so, leaning on the shoulder of my
faithful secretary, I set forth to hobble down the valley. The sun shone on me, and
I could just move fast enough to keep his bright disc above the top of the hill. He
seemed to be rolling downward along the gradually descending ridge, like a great
wheel of fire ; and I, painfully and laboriously stumbling along, still remained in his
light. Of course, it was not the time for our jehu to be at the appointed spot ; so,
with many a groan, I had to stagger on until a stray conveyance came in our
direction. Out of the sunshine, all is winter : in the sunlight alone is summer. Oh,
that spiritually I could always walk in the light of God's countenance as that day
I managed to keep in the sun's rays !
" ' Like Enoch, let me walk with God,
And thus walk out my day ;
Attended still with heavenly light,
Upon the King's highway.' "
THE GORBIO VALLEY, NEAR MENTONE.
The Gorbio valley was one of the special haunts of the trap-door spiders until
visitors so ruthlessly destroyed their wonderful underground homes. Concerning
these and other curious creatures, the Pastor wrote to Mrs. Spurgeon : — " How
I wish you could be here to see the spiders' trap-doors ! There are thousands
of them here, and the harvesting ants also, though the wise men declared that
Solomon was mistaken when he said, 'They prepare their meat in the summer.' I
shall send you a book about them all." When the volume arrived, it proved to
206
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
be Harvesting Ants and Trap-door Spiders, by J. Traherne Moggridge, F.L.S.
and it contained such a choice inscription that it is here reproduced \\\ facsimile : —
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One of the charms of Mentone to Mr. Spurgeon was the fact that he could
constantly see there illustrations of Biblical scenes and manners and customs. He
frequently said he had no desire to visit Palestine in its present forlorn condition, for
he had before his eyes, in the Riviera, an almost e.xact representation of the Holy
Land as it was in the days of our Lord. He was gready interested in an article,
written by Dr. Hugh Macmillan, upon this subject, in which that devoted student of
nature traced many minute resemblances between the climate, the conformation
of the country, the fauna and Mora, and the habits of the people in the South of
France of to-day, and those of the East in the time when Jesus of Nazareth trod
"those holy fields." In several of his Sabbath afternoon communion addresses,
the Pastor alluded to the many things that continually reminded him of
" Immanuel's land," while the olive trees were a never-failing source of interest
and illustration. One of the works, with which he had made very considerable
progress, was intended to be, if possible, an explanation ol all the Scriptural
references to the olive.
Mr. Spurgeon often remarked that there were many Biblical allusions which
could not be understood apart from their Oriental associations ; and, as an instance,
he said that some people had failed altogether to catch the meaning of Isaiah Ivii. 20,
"The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up
mire and dirt." Those who have affirmed that the sea never can rest have not seen
the Mediterranean in its most placid mood, when for days or even weeks at a time
there is scarcely a rippie upon its surface. During that calm period, all sorts of
refuse accumulate along the shore ; and then, when the time of tempest comes,
anyone who walks by the side of the agitated waters can see that they do "cast up
C. H. SPURGEONS AUTOBIOGRAI'llY. 207
mire and dirt." Usually, during the Pastor's stay at Mentone, there was at least
one great storm, either far out at sea, or near at hand. In 1882, in one of his
letters home, he wrote the following graphic description of the scene he had just
witnessed : —
" This afternoon, I have been out to watch the sea. There was a storm last
night, and the sea cannot forgive the rude winds, so it is avenging its wrongs upon
the shore. The sun shone at 3 o clock, and there was no wind here ; but away
over the waters hung an awful cloud, and to our left a rainbow adorned another
frowning mass of blackness. Though much mud was under foot, ail the world
turned out to watch the hungry billows rush upon the beach. In one place, they
rolled against the esplanade, and then rose, like the waterworks at Versailles, high
into the air, over the walk, and across the road, making people run and dodge, and
leaving thousands of pebbles on the pavement. In another place, the sea removed
all the foreshore, undermined the walls, carried them away, and then assailed the
broad path, which it destroyed in mouihfuls, much as a rustic eats bread-and-butter !
Here and there, it took away the curb ; I saw some twelve feet of it go, and then it
attacked the road. It was amusing to see the people move as a specially big wave
dashed up. The lamp-posts were going when I came in, and an erection of solid
stone, used as the site of a pump, was on the move. Numbers ot people were
around this as I came in at sundown ; it was undermined, and a chasm was opening
between it and the road. Men were getting up the gas pipes, or digging into the
road to cut the gas off. I should not wonder if the road is partly gone by the
morning. Though splashed with mud, I could not resist the delight of seeing the
huge waves, and the sea birds flashing among them like soft lightnings. The deep
sigh, the stern howl, the solemn hush, the booming roar, and the hollow mutter of
the ocean were terrible and grand to me. Then the rosy haze of the far-ascending
spray, and the imperial purple and azure of the more-distant part oi the waters,
together with the snow-white manes of certain breakers on a line of rock, made up a
spectacle never to be forgotten. Far away, in the East, I saw just a lew yards of
rainbow standing on the sea. It seemed like a Pharos glimmering there, or a ship
in gala array, dressed out with the flags of all nations. O my God, how glorious
art Thou i I love Thee the better for being so great, so terrible, so good, so true.
' This God is our God, for ever and ever.-' "
Another phenomenon was thus described in a letter of the same period : — ■
"About six in the evening, we were all called out into the road to see a s^uperb
Aurora Borealis, — a sight that is very rarely seen here. Natives say that it is twelve
years since the last appearance, and that it means a cold winter which will drive
people to Mentone. Our mountains are to the North, and yet, above their tops,
we saw the red glare of this wonderful visitant. ' Castellar is on fire,' said an old
20S
H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
lady, as if the conflagration of a million such hamlets could cause the faintest
approximation to the Aurora, which looked like the first sight of a world on fire, or
the blaze of the day of doom."
Mr. Spurgeon had been at Mentone so many years that he had watched its
growth from little more than a village to a town of considerable size. He had
so thoroughly explored it that he knew every nook and cranny, and there was
not a walk or drive in the neighbourhood with which he was not perfectly familiar.
His articles, in The Szvord and the Trowel, on the journey from " Westwood " to
Mentone, and the drives around his winter resort, have been most useful to later
travellers, and far more interesting than ordinary guide-books. Many of the villas
and hotels were associated with visits to invalids or other friends, and some were the
scenes of notable incidents which could not easily be forgotten.
IHE GARDEN UF HOTEL D ITALIE, MENTONE.
At the Hotel d'ltalie, the Pastor called to see John Bright, who was just then
in anything but a bright frame of mind. He was in a very uncomfortable room,
and was full of complaints of the variations in temperature in the sunshine and in
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 209
the shade. His visitor tried to give him a description of Mentone as he had
known it for many years, but the great tribune of the people seemed only anxious
to get away to more congenial quarters. The Earl of Shaftesbury was another
of the notable Mentone visitors whom the Pastor tried to cheer when he was
depressed about the state of religious and social affairs in England and on
the Continent.
One morning, among the little company gathered for family prayer, Mr. T. A.
Denny unexpectedly put in an appearance. In explanation of his sudden arrival,
he said, " I felt down in the dumps, so I thought I would just run over to my friend
Spurgeon for a few days, for it always does me good to see and hear him." His
presence was equally welcome to the Pastor, and they drove together to some of the
most charming places in the district.
The genial Sir Wilfrid Lawson scarcely needed anyone to raise his spirits, for
he was in one of his merriest moods when he met Mr. Spurgeon at the hotel door,
and the half-hour they spent together was indeed a lively time. The Right Hon.
G. J. Shaw-Lefevre was another politician whom the Pastor met at Mentone. The
subject of Home Rule was just then coming to the front, and the Liberal states-
man heard that day what Mr. Spurgeon thought of Mr. Gladstone's plans ;
the time came when the opinions then expressed privately were published broad-
cast throughout the United Kingdom, and materially contributed to the great
leader's defeat.
In the earlier years of visiting Mentone, 'he Pastor stayed at the Hotel des
Anglais ; and he used often to say that he never passed that spot without looking at
a certain room, and thanking God for the merciful deliverance which he there
experienced. One day, he was lying in that room, very ill ; but he had insisted
upon the friends who were with him going out for a little exercise. Scarcely had
they left, when a madman, who had eluded the vigilance of his keepers, rushed in,
and said, " I want you to save my soul." With great presence of mind, the dear
sufferer bade the poor fellow kneel down by the side of the bed, and prayed for him
as best he could under the circumstances. Mr. Spurgeon then told him to go away,
and return in half an hour. Providentially, he obeyed ; and, as soon as he was gone,
the doctor and servants were summoned, but they were not able to overtake the
madman before he had stabbed someone in the street ; and, only a very few days
later, he met with a terribly tragic end.
In the garden of the same hotel, the Pastor once had an unusual and amusing
experience. A poor organ-grinder was working away at his instrument ; but,
evidently, was evoking more sound than sympathy. Mr. Spurgeon, moved with
pity at his want of success, took his place, and ground out the tunes while the man
04
2IO C. H. srURGEONS AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
busily occupied himself in picking up the coins thrown by the numerous company
that soon gathered at the windows and on the balconies to see and hear Mr,
Spurgeon play the organ ! When he left off, other guests also had a turn at the
machine ; and, although they were not so successful as the first amateur player had
been, when the organ-man departed, he carried away a heavier purse and a happier
heart than he usually took home.
It was while staying at the Hotel des Anglais that the Pastor adopted a very
original method of vindicating one of the two Christian ordinances which were
always very dear to him. At a social gathering, at which Mr. Spurgeon and a large
number of friends were present, Mr. Edward Jenkins, M.P., the author of Giiixs Baby,
persistently ridiculed believers' baptism. It was a matter of surprise to many that he
did not at once get the answer that he might have been sure he would receive sooner
or later. The party broke up, however, without anything having been said by the
Pastor upon the question, but it was arranged that, the next day, all of them should
visit Ventimiglia. On reaching the cathedral, Mr. Spurgeon led the way to
the baptistery in the crypt ; and when all the company had gathered round the
old man who was explaining the objects of interest, the Pastor said to his anti-
immersionist friend, " Mr. Jenkins, you understand Italian better than we do, will
you kindly interpret for us what the guide is saying ? " Thus fairly trapped, the
assailant of the previous evening began, " This is an ancient baptistery. He says
that, in the early Christian Church, baptism was always administered by immersion."
The crypt at once rang with laughter, in which the interpreter joined as heartily
as anyone, admitting that he had been as neatly " sold " as a man well could be. He
was not the only one who learnt that the combatant who crossed swords with our
Mr. Great-heart might not find the conflict to his permanent advantage.
Mr. Spurgeon was never able to accept the invitation of Mr. Hanbury, who
wished him to stay at the Palazzo Orengo ; but, on two occasions, he was the guest, for
a week or two, of Mrs. Dudgeon at the Villa les Grottes. He had frequently spent
a day there, or gone to a drawing-room meeting in aid of one or other of the many
religious and benevolent works in which that good lady was interested, or, in the
evening, had met, at her house, a number of friends, belonging to so many different
denominations, that it seemed like a gathering under the auspices of the Evangelical
Alliance. On one of these occasions, there were so many Church of England
canons in the company, that Mr. Spurgeon humorously said that they might form a
park of artillery. After a season of general conversation, the whole company
usually settled down to listen to the story of the Stockwell Orphanage, or remarkable
instances of answers to prayer, or a few words of loving gospel talk, closing with
earnest supplication for a blessing to rest upon all present.
II. SI'URGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
21 I
When the weather permitted, Mrs. Dudgeon liked to arrange for a picnic, at
which other friends could have the opportunity of meeting her honoured guest ; she
related to him, with great glee, the remark of a Mentonese woman concerning one
of those outings : — " I can't make out you English people at all ; you have nice
hotels and houses where you can have your meals in comfort, and yet you go and
eat your dinner in a ditch !" The "ditch " was, of course, a dry one ; and, usually,
an olive garden was the scene of the al jrcsco repast.
AN OLIVE GARDEN IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE.
A favourite resort for these picnic parties was Beaulieu, rightly named
"beautiful place." The route to it led directly through Monte Carlo, and the
Pastor was always glad when that part of the road was passed ; he said that the
whole region seemed to smell of brimstone ! On one of his early visits to the
Riviera, he had gone in to see the gamblers in the Casino ; but, in all later years,
he avoided even the gardens surrounding the building where so many had been
ruined both for time and eternity, and he did not like any of those who were staying
with him to go merely to .look at the players. He used to tell them what was said
once to a friend of his, who was walking in the gardens, and who, when he met the
manager, began to apologize for his presence there as he never went to the tables.
21
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
" My dear sir," replied Monsieur , "you are heartily welcome to come at any
time, e\'en though you do not play ; you are one of our best friends, for you and
others like you help to make our place respectable." As the one to whom these
words were addressed had an utter horror of supporting gambling in any way, he
took care never again to be seen anywhere near the gardens.
THE CASINO AND GARDENS, MONTE CARLO.
Almost every year, while Mr. Spurgeon was at Mentone, he heard of many
cases ol suicide as the result of the gambling at Monte Carlo, and in various ways
he discovered that the ruin wrought by the Casino was far greater than was known
to the public in England. On various occasions, he published some of this
information, in the hope of aiding the movement for the abolition of the evil. One
of those papers, entitled "The Serpent in Paradise," was reprinted, and had a large
circulation ; but, alas ! the gaming still continues, and the annual roll of victims
appears to be as long and as terrible as ever.
One delightful excursion was arranged to Laguet, or Laghetto, the charming
valley which has been, at times, the resort of almost numberless pilgrims, who
have gone there to obtain the supposed mediation of the large wax doll which
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
13
probably is still preserved in the chapel attached to the monastery. A drive out
to that lovely spot, with a mid-day rest for the horses, and an open-air meal for the
LAGUET, OR LAGHETTO, NEAR MENTONE.
travellers, was always regardegl by Mr. Spurgeon as one of the greatest enjoyments
of his sojourn in the sunny South. But it was only possible in the finest weather,
and when the days were long enough to permit the return journey to be completed
before sunset ; otherwise, a chill and a painful illness would most likely follow, as
there was so great a fall in the temperature the instant the sun disappeared for
the nio-ht.
IN THE GARDEN OF HOTEL BEAU RIVAGE, MENTONE.
CHAPTER XCVI
3n tl)t Simng Soutlj (Continncd).
IN rilK GARDEN OF VILLA LES GROTTES, JIENTONE.
N one of the visits to Mrs. Dudgeon at the Villa les Grottes, the
Pastor and his secretary were photographed in her garden by
her nephew, Mr. H. W. Seton-Karr. The above reproduction
gives a sHght idea of the view to be seen from one of the upper
terraces ; the high hills in the distance are beyond the Italian
frontier.
For several years, Mr. Spurgeon stayed at the Hotel Beau Rivage. As he
generally had several companions, or friends who wished to be near him, his party
usually occupied a considerable portion of the small building, and the general
arrangements were as homelike as possible, even to the ringing of a bell when it
was time for family prayer. Not only were there guests in the house who desired to
be present, but many came from other hotels and villas in the neighbourhood, and
2l6 C. H. SPURGEON'S AUTOBIOGRAniY.
felt well rewarded by die brief exposition of the Scriptures and the prayer which
followed it. Those of the company who were members of any Christian church
asked permission to attend the Lord's-day afternoon communion service, and it
frequently happened that the large sitting-room was quite full, and the folding doors
had to be thrown back, so that some communicants might be in the room adjoining.
On the Sabbath morning, the Pastor usually worshipped with the Presbyterian
friends at the Villa les Grottes ; occasionally giving an address before the observance
of the Lord's supper, and sometimes taking the whole service. Although away for
rest, an opportunity was generally made for him to preach, at least once during the
season, at the French Protestant Church, when a very substantial sum was collected
for the poor of Mentone. He also took part in the united prayer-meetings in the
first week of the year, and sometimes spoke upon the topic selected for the occasion.
It is scarcely possible to tell how many people were blessed under the semi-
private ministry which Mr. Spurgeon was able to exercise during his holiday. He
used, at times, to feel that the burden became almost too great to be borne, for it
seemed as if all who were suffering from depression of spirit, whether living in
Mentone, Nice, Cannes, Bordic'liera, or San Remo, found him out, and sought the
relief which his sympathetic heart was ever ready to bestow. In one case, a poor
soul, greatly in need of comfort, was marvellously helped by a brief conversation with
him. The Pastor himself thus related the story, when preaching in the Tabernacle,
in June, 1883 : —
" Some years ago, I was away in the South of France ; I had been very ill there,
and was sitting in my room alone, for my friends had all gone down to the mid-day
meal. All at once it struck me that I had something to do out of doors ; I did not
know what it was, but I walked out, and sat down on a seat. There came and sat
next to me on the seat a poor, pale, emaciated woman in the last stage of
consumption ; and looking at me, she said, ' O Mr. Spurgeon, I have read your
sermons for years, and I have learned to trust the Saviour ! I know I cannot live
long, but I am very sad as I think of it, for I am so afraid to die.' Then I knew
why I had gone out there, and I began to try to cheer her. I found that it was very
hard work. After a little conversation, I said to her, ' Then you would like to go to
Heaven, but not to die ?' ' Yes, just so,' she answered. ' Well, how do you wish to
go there ? Would you like to ascend in a chariot of fire ? ' That method had not
occurred to her, but she answered, 'Yes, oh, yes!' 'Well,' I said, 'suppose there
should be, just round this corner, horses all on fire, and a blazing chariot waiting
there to take you up to Heaven; do you feel ready to step into such a chariot?'
She looked up at me, and she said, ' No, I should be afraid to do that.' 'Ah ! ' I said,
' and so should I ; I should tremble a great deal more at getting into a chariot of fire
C. II. SrURGEON's AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 2 1/
than I should at dyuio-. I am not fond of being behind fiery horses, I would rather
be excused from taking such a ride as that.' Then I said to her, ' Let me tell you
what will probably happen to you ; you will most likely go to bed some night, and
you will wake up in Heaven.' That is just what did occur not long after ; her
husband wrote to tell me that, after our conversation, she had never had any more
trouble about dying ; she felt that it was the easiest way into Heaven, after all, and
far better than going there in a whirlwind with horses of fire and chariots of fire, and
she gave herself up for her Heavenly Father to take her home in His own way ; and
so she passed away, as I expected, in her sleep."
The testimony of one American minister is probably typical of that of many
others who came under Mr. Spurgeon's influence at Mentone. In one of his letters
to The Chicago Standard, Rev. W. H. Geistweit wrote: — "It has been said
that, to know a man, you must live with him. For two months, every morning,
I found myself in Mr. Spurgeon's sitting-room, facing the sea, with the friends who
had gathered there for the reading of the Word and prayer. To me, it is far
sweeter to receill those little meetings than to think of him merely as the great
preacher of the Tabernacle. Multitudes heard him there while but few had the
peculiar privilege accorded to me. His solicitude for others constantly shone out.
An incident In illustration of this fact will never be forgotten by me. Fie had been
very ill for a week, during which time, although I went daily to his hotel, he did not
leave his bed, and could not be seen. His suffering was exeruciating. A little later,
I was walking in the street, one morning, when he spied me from his carriage. He
hailed me, and when I approached him, he held out his left hand, and said cheerily,
' Oh, you are worth five shillings a pound more than when I saw you last ! ' And
letting his voice fall to a tone of deep earnestness, he added, ' Spend it ah foi^
the Lord.' "
A gentleman, who was staying in the hotel at Mentone, where the Pastor spent
the winter of 1883, wrote: — -"As an instance of the rapidity of Mr. Spurgeon's
preparation, the following incident may be given. There came to him, from London,
a large parcel of Christmas and New Year's cards. These were shown to some of
the residents at the hotel, and a lady of our party was requested to choose one
from them. The card she selected was a Scriptural one ; it was headed, ' The
New Year's Guest,' and in harmony with the idea of hospitality, two texts were
linked together : ' I was a stranger, and ye took Me in ; ' and ' As many as received
Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe
on His Name.' The card was taken away by the lady ; but, on the following Lord's-
day, after lunch, Mr. Spurgeon requested that it might be lent to him for a
2i8 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
short time. The same afternoon, a service was held in his private room, and he
then gave a most beautiful and impressive address upon the texts on the card. The
sermonette was printed in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit shortly after that
date, and has always seemed to me a wonderful illustration of Mr. Spurgeon's great
power. Later in the day, he showed me the notes he had made in the half-hour
which elapsed between the time the card came into his possession and the service
at which the address was delivered ; and these, written on a half-sheet of notepaper,
consisted of the two main divisions, each one with several sub-divisions, exactly
as tliey appear in the printed address."
(Just as this chapter was being compiled, one of "our own men," Pastor W. J.
Tomkins, thus reported a far more remarkable instance ot the rapidity of Mr.
Spurgeon's preparation : — "One Thursday evening, during the time I was a student
in the College, the dear President had been preaching in the West of England, ^ — at
Bristol, I think, — and by some cause was delayed on his way back to London. At
the commencement of the service, Mr. James Spurgeon announced that he had
received a telegram from his brother, mentioning the delay, and stating that he
would arrive in time to preach. During the reading of the lesson, which was the
I St chapter of the Second Epistle to Timothy, the great preacher entered, to the
intense delight of the large congregation present. Mr. James Spurgeon was giving
an exposition of the chapter when his brother, who had quietly taken a seat behind
him, intimated his presence by gently pulling his coat-tail. The reading was soon
finished, prayer was offered, and a hymn sung, and the text was announced :
' Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in
thee by the putting on of my hands.' After an interesting and instructive intro-
duction, the Pastor proceeded to deliver a most orderly and helpful discourse, which
seemed to bear the marks of careful preparation, and it was with astonishment we
heard him say, in the College the next day, that the whole sermon of the previous
evening Jl ashed ac7^oss his mind while sitting upon the platform during the reading
of the chapter by his brother T)
Occasionally, Mr. Spurgeon sent home the outline which he had used at the
Sabbath afternoon communion, with some account of the service. The facsimile
on the opposite page relates to the address upon the words, " Thou hast visited
me in the night," which was published in The Sivord and the Troxvel for December,
1886, under the title, " Mysterious Visits." It contained quite a number of auto-
biographical allusions, such as the following ; — " I hope that you and I have had
many visits from our Lord. Some of us have had them, especially in the night,
vv^hen we have been compelled to count the sleepless hours. ' Heaven's gate opens
C. H. SPURGEON's AUTOBIOGRAniY. 219
when this world's is shut.' The night is still; everybody is away; work is done;
care is forgotten; and then the Lord Himself draws near. Possibly there may be
pain to be endured, the head may be aching, and the heart may be throbbing ; but if
Jesus comes to visit us, our bed of languishing becomes a throne of glory. Though
it is true that ' He giveth His beloved sleep,' yet, at such times, He gives them
something better than sleep, namely. His own presence, and the fulness of joy which
comes with it. By night, upon our bed, we have seen the unseen. I have tried
sometimes not to sleep under an excess of joy, when the company of Christ has been
sweetly mine."
The closing paragraph is a good illustration of the way in which Mr. Spurgeon
made use of the scenes around him to impress his message upon his hearers : —
"Go forth, beloved, and talk with Jesus on the beach, for He oft resorted to the
sea-shore. Commune with Him amid the olive groves so dear to Him in many a
night of wrestling prayer. If ever there was a country in which men should see
traces of Jesus, next to the Holy Land, this Riviera is the favoured spot. It is a
land of \ines, and figs, and olives, and palms ; I have called it ' Thy land, O
Immanuel' While in this Mentone, I often ftmcy that I am looking out upon the
Lake of Gennesaret, or walking at the foot of the Mount of Olives, or peering into
the mysterious gloom of the Garden of Gethsemane. The narrow streets of the old
town are such as Jesus traversed, these villages are such as He inhabited. Have
your hearts right with Him, and He will visit you often, until every day you shall
walk with God, as Enoch did, and so turn week-days into Sabbaths, meals into
sacraments, homes into temples, and earth into Heaven. So be it with us ! Amen."
'J^^lxr^ -O.S eCe.O'dL ,
2l . V^.
J-r^ Che. ■m^nir ,
220
H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
The atmosphere at Mentone was so favourable for photographers' work that
many portraits of the Pastor were taken during his sojourns in the sunny South.
One ot the very best is here reproduced.
C, H. SPURGEON AT MENTONE, l8S6.
At the same time and place, the portrait of his private secretary, reproduced on
the opposite page, was also taken.
Some good people were evidently under the impression that Mr. Spurgeon's
stay in the Riviera afforded him the opportunity of doing literary work for which he
had not the leisure while at home. On October 3, 1887, he gave an address, at the
Tabernacle, to the members and friends of the Open Air Mission, upon "Winning
H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Souls for Christ." Shortly afterwards, he received a letter from the secretary,
Mr. Gawin Kirkham, thanking him for the address, and adding : — " Naturally, we
are asked, on every hand, ' Will it be published ? ' We say, ' Yes, please God,
J. W. HARRALD AT MENTONE, 1 5
in due time.' So, when you have time to revise it in the sunny South, we shall
rejoice to receive it."
The address was duly revised, and published, and its influence for good
continues even to this day. The Pastor's experience on that occasion was not at
all unusual ; for, very often, after he had preached or spoken on behalf of one or
other of the Societies for which his help was constantly being asked, the sermon or
222
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
address was sent to him, with a request for its revision. In such a busy Hie as his,
it was not easy to crowd in both the pubhc testimony and the private toil which so
frequently followed ; yet, when it was possible, he gladly rendered the desired service
in both its forms.
The sunshine and clear air at Mentone helped to increase the natural
buoyancy of Mr. Spurgeon's spirits, and so provided a large supply ot pure fun for
all who were there with him. Walking by the sea-shore, at a time when the
Mediterranean was raging furiously, he asked, "What are the wild waves saying?'
and then gave his own witty answer to the question, " Let us (s)pray ! "
On the sad occasion when he fell down a marble staircase, he did not at first
realize how seriously he had been hurt ; and having turned a double somersault,
in the course of which some money fell from his pocket into his Wellington
boots, and having also lost a tooth, or teeth, in his descent, he humorously described
the whole transaction as " painless dentistry, with money to boot ! "
DR. H anna's lions," MENTONE.
One of the most amusing incidents at Mentone was associated with the lions
represented in the above illustration. When Dr. William Hanna was driving past
these gates, Mr. Spurgeon most seriously assured him that, neither our own
C. H. SrURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 223
Zoological Gardens, nor the Jardin d Acclimatation at Paris, possessed a specimen
of the species of lion to which these belonged, and the worthy doctor accepted
the information with the utmost gravity ; and it was not until he awoke, in the
middle of the night, that he saw the meaning of his genial companion's playful
remark. The next day, when they met, the conversation naturally turned upon
the necessity of a surgical operation in order to get an Englishman's joke into a
Scotchman's head.
One evening, before tabic d'hote, it was noticed that Mr. Spurgeon was very
busily writing something in which he appeared to be deeply interested. After dinner,
he went upstairs before the rest of the company ; and when they arrived, he said he
wanted to read to them a poem he had written, which was as follows : —
" Joseph Harrald."
" Poor old Spurgeon we must urge on,
Not so Joseph Harrald ;
Before the sun he s up, Hke fun,
Ere the lark has carolled.
" When worthy Stead has fired his lead,
Not so Joseph Harrald ;
Sparkling wit is in his head.
His puns are double-barrelled.
" Each other wight is wearied quite,
Not so Joseph Harrald ;
' On he works from morn to night ;
Beats poor Douglas Jerrold.
'We appear in seedy gear, *
Not so Joseph Harrald ;
In his glory he'll appear,
As Templars are apparelled.
"Wine's good drink, as others think.
Not so Joseph Harrald ;
Truest blue, he'll never shrink :
Let his brow be laurelled.
"When late he reads, sleep he needs,
Even Joseph Harrald ;
Gapes with mouth, with which he feeds.
With which he never quarrelled.
" Too familiar we, forget that he.
Is the Reverend Joseph Harrald ;
From Geneva he ; his theology
Is Calvinized and Farelled.''
"Worthy Stead" was not Mr. W. T. Stead, but one of "our own men" who
was then at Mentone. The Times of one day arrived the following evening ;
and it was not simply weariness, but dislike of the politics of the leading-
journal, especially in its attacks on Mr. Gladstone, that made the "late" reader
feel the need of sleep. And, finally, " Joseph Harrald " had just as hearty a hatred
224 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
of the title " Reverend" as ever was felt by his beloved Pastor and President, who,
in this amusing fashion, exercised no little ingenuity in seeking to give pleasure to
his private secretary and those dear to him.
On another occasion, Mr. Spurgeon wrote at Mentone v/hat he called "A War-
Song." He included it in the programme of the following College Conference ; ana
few who were then present are likely to forget the impression produced when, first,
the hundreds of ministers and students, and, afterwards, the thousands gathered at
the great public meeting in the Tabernacle, sang this soul-stirring hymn : —
" Forth to the battle rides our King,
He chmbs His conquering car;
He fits His arrows to the string,
And hurls His bolts afar.
" Convictions pierce the stoutest hearts,
They smart, Ihey bleed, they die ;
Slain by Immanuel's well-aimed darts.
In helpless heaps they lie.
" Behold, He bares his two-edged sword,
And deals almighty blows;
His all-revealing, killing Word
'Twixt joints and marrow goes.
''Who can resist Hipi in the fight?
He cuts through coats of mail ;
Before the terror of His might
The hearts of rebels fail.
"Anon, arrayed in robes of grace,
He rides the trampled plain.
With pity beaming in His face,
And mercy in His train.
" Mighty to save He now appears,
IVIighty to raise the dead,
IMighty to stanch the bleeding wound.
And lift the fallen head.
"Victor alike in love and arms.
Myriads around Him bend ;
Each captive owns His matchless charms,
Each foe becomes His friend.
" They crown Him on the battle-field,
They press to kiss His feet ;
Their hands, their hearts, their all they yield:
His conquest is complete.
"None love Him more than those He slew;
His love their hate has slain ;
Henceforth their souls are all on fire
To spread His gentle reign."
CHAPTER XCVir
[nabatcb affection bttiuctit ^mtnx aitir J^coplt.
ANY of Mr. Spurgeon's letters, published, in previous chapters,
. answer to his own description of the brief "notes" which had
to be hurriedly penned amid the heavy pressure of almost incessant
toil. Yet he wrote other letters ; and, amongst the choicest of
them, were those addressed to the officers and members of the
church at the Tabernacle. Many of these have never been
published, although carefully preserved ; but it is impossible to convey a true
idea of the Pastor's correspondence without including at least a few specimens of
his later epistles to the beloved brethren and sisters committed to his charge.
In writing to them, he often seemed to pour out his very soul in his pleading with
them to be consistent, prayerful. Christian men and women, earnestly labouring
for the good of the people amongst whom their lot was cast.
The following selection comprises the letters written during one sojourn in
the sunny South, although, in order to make the set complete, it is necessary to
insert the last communication from the Pastor's sick-room before he was able to
start for his needed and deserved holiday : —
" Dearly-beloved Friends,
" I am right glad that those who filled my place, last Sabbath, were
so graciously enabled to feed your souls. It matters little who distributes the bread
so long as it comes fresh from Jesu's hand. I join you in earnest prayer that
the brethren, who have so kindly come to my relief to-day, may have equally
adequate assistance from our Lord and His Spirit. I thank them, but I also
envy them ; and would gladly pay a king's ransom, if I had it, for the privilege
of preaching this Sabbath. My envy condenses into a prayer that all my Lord's
ambassadors may have good speed this day, that so His Kingdom of peace may
mightily grow in the land.
" After enduring much in-tense pain, I am now recovering, and, like a little
child, am learning to stand, and to totter from chair to chair. The trial is hot,
but it does not last long ; and there is herein much cause for gratitude. My last
two attacks have been of this character. It may be the will of God that I should
P4
226 C. H. sturgeon's AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
ha\'e many more of these singular seizures ; and, if so, I hope you will have
patience with mc\ I ha\'e done all as to diet, abstinence froni stimulants, and
so on, which could be done ; and, as the complaint still continues, the cause
must be elsewhere. We call the evil ' gout ' for want of a better word, but it
differs widely from the disorder which usually goes under that name.
"On the last two occasions when I bioke down, I had an unusual pressure
of work upon me. My service among you is so arduous that I can just keep
on, at a medium pace, if I have nothing extra to do ; but any additional labour
overthrows me. If I were an iron man, you should have my whole strength
till the last particle had been worn away ; but as I am only flesh ahd blood, you
must take from me what I can give, and look for no more. May that service
which I can render be accepted of the Lord !
" I now commend you, dear friends, to the Lord's keeping. Nothing will
cheer me so much as to hear that God is among you ; and I shall judge of this
by iuipoi tiUiate praye7'-iucetings, the good works of the church systematically and
liberally sustained, and converts coming forward to confess their faith in Christ.
This last token of fclessing I look for and long for every week. ' Who is on the Lord's
si'de ?'' Wounded on the battle-field, I raise myself on my arm, and cry to those
around me, and urge them to espouse my Master's cause, for if we were wounded
or dead lor His sake, all would be gain. By the splendour of redeeming love,
I charge each believer to confess his Lord, and live wholly to Him.
"Yours for Christ's sake,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Not very long after this letter was written* the Pastor was able to start for the
South of France. On the way to Mentone, he made a short stay at Cannes, and
from there wrote, on January 31 : —
"To my Beloved Church and Congregation,
" Dear Friends,
"The journey here is long for one who is in weak health, and I have
had but a few days of rest, but already I feel myself improving. The Master's
service among you has been very delightful to me ; but it has grown to such
pioportions that I have felt the burden of it weighing very heavily upon my heart,
and I have suffered more depression of spirit, and weariness of mind, than I could
well express. Rest I could not find at home, where every hour has its cares ; but
here, I cease altogether from these things, and the mind becomes like an unstrung
bow, and so regains its elasticity.
" I wish I could work on among you continually, and never even pause ; but
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 227
many infirmities show that this cannot be. Pray, therefore, that this needful break
in my work may strengthen me for a long spring and summer campaign.
" Nothing can so cheer me as to know that all of you are living for Jesus, and
living like Him. Our church has produced great workers in the past, and I hope
the sacred enthusiasm which they manifested will never burn low among us. Jesus
is worth being served with our best ; yea, with our all, and that in an intense and
all-consuming manner. May our young men and women love the Lord much, and
win others to Him by their zeal for God ; and may our elder brethren, and the
matrons among us, prove ever the pillars ot the church in their holy conversation
and devout godliness !
''Maintain the prayer-meetings at blood-heat. See well to the Sunday-schools,
and all the Bible-classes, and other labours for Christ. Let nothing flao- of prayer,
service, or offering. We have a great trust ; may the Lord make us faithful to it !
My love is with you all, and my prayers for your welfare.
"Oh, that you who are still unsaved may be led to Jesus through those who
supply my lack of service ! Peace be with the Co-pastor, deacons, and elders, and
with you all !
" From your loving but unworthy Pastor,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
\\\ his humility, he called himself unworthy, but no one else would have used
such an epithet concerning him. Never, surely, was there a more worthy as well as
loving under-shepherd of the flock.
The next epistle shows that he had reached his destination : —
" Mentone,
" Wednesday evening.
"To my Dear Friends at the Tabernacle,
'• It is only a few days since I wrote to you, and therefore I have
nothing fresh to report, except that, each day, I feel the need and the value of the
rest which I am beginning to enjoy. I have only arrived here this afternoon ; but
the warm sunshine and the clear atmosphere make me feel as if I had reached
another world, and tend" gready to revive my weary mind.
" It would be well it I could write without mentioning myself, and for your
edification only. Forgive the need which there is of alluding to my health ; it
would best please me if I could work right on, and never have the wretched item of
self to mention. My mind runs much upon the work at home, — the services, the
College, the Orphanage, the Colportage, the Sabbath-school, the coming special
meetings, and so on. I picture all things in my mind's eye, and wonder how all are
going on; then I pray, and leave the whole with ' that great Shepherd of the sheep:
228 C. H. SrURGEON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
" My brother and all the officers will watch for the good of the church ; and the
more spiritual and full-grown among you will also care for the state of the work ;
and so the Lord will use your instrumentality for His glory. We are set for a sign
and token of the power of the old-fashioned gospel, and we are bound to prove to
all around, not only that the truth can gather, but that it can hold. It will not only
forcibly draw men together, but it will bind them together ; and that, too, not
through some favoured preacher, but by Its own intrnisic force. This assertion
needs proof, and you will prove it.
" May God, the Eternal Spirit, abide over you all, beloved, and cause you to be
strong by the anointing of the Holy One ! May the poor be comforted, the sick
supported, the warriors be strengthened, and the labourers be sustained ! My
hearty love is ever with you.
" 'There my best friends, my kindred, (hvell,
There God my Saviour icigns.
" Yours in Christ Jesus,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
" Keep up the prayer-meetimcs."
The following week, this letter was written . —
" Mentone,
" Feb. 7:
" My Beloved Friends,
" After enjoying a few restful nights and quiet days, I feel myself coming
round again, and my heart is full of praise and thanksgiving to our gracious God.
Your prayers have been incessant, and have prevailed ; and I am very grateful
to you all. As long as I am able, it will be my joy to be of service to you ; an-d
m.y only grief has been that sickness has weakened my powers, and rendered
me less able to discharge my happy duties among you. The post I occupy needs a
man at his best, and I have of late been very much the reverse. However, we know
who It is that gueth power to the faint, and so we trust that feeble efforts have
not been ineftectual.
" I shall be doubly indebted to the goodness of our Lord If the remainder
of my rest shall confirm the beneficial work which has commenced. The further
repose will, I hope, make me stronger for the tuture.
" I have not yet heard tidings of the special services, but I hope that every
member is at work to make them a success. Pray about them, speak about
them, attend them, assist in them, brmg others to them. Our two evangelists
are the right instruments, but the hand of the Lord is needed to work by them.
Call upon Him. whose hand it is, and He will work according to His own good
c. H. si'Urgeon's autobiograthy. 229
pleasure. The times are such that churches holduig the old truths must be
active and energetic, that the power of the gospel may be manifest to all. We
need to uplift a banner because of the truth. So numerous a church as ours
may accomplish great things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, if only we are
once in downright earnest. Playing at religion is wretched ; it must be everything
to us, or it will be nothing.
" Peace be with you all, and abounding love !
" Your hearty friend,
"C. H. Spurgeon."
There is a gap in the correspondence here ; for, even on the sunny shore
of the Mediterranean, the Pastor's constitutional enemy found him out, and
inflicted fresh suffering upon him. After an interval of three weeks, he was
able to write as follows : —
" Mcntone,
" Feb. 28.
" Beloved Friends,
" I rejoice that the time of my return to you is now a matter of a
few days, and that I have every prospect, if the Lord will, of returning with
health established and mind rested. Perhaps never befo-re have I been brought
so low in spirit, and assuredly never more graciously restored. May the Lord
sanctify both the trial and the recovery, so that I may be a fitter instrument
in His hand to promote His glory and your highest good !
" The last fortnight of additional rest was wisely ordained by a higher hand
than that of the good deacons, who suggested it to me ; for, without it, I should
not have had space to pass through an attack of pain which has just swept over
me, and left me improved by its violence. The last few days will, I feel, be
the best of the whole, when I shall not have to be thoughtful of recovery, but
aliogether restful.
" Good news from the Tabernacle continues to be as cold waters to a thirsty
soul. You have had great times of refreshing ; may their inllucnce abide with
you ! We must not go to sleep on my return, nor at any other time ; but steadily
labour on, and watch for souls. Spurts are very helpful ; but to keep up the
pace at ,a high regular figure, is the most important thing. Even an invalid
can make a gieat exertion when some remarkable occasion excites him to do so;
but constant, unwearied effort belongs only to those who have stamina and inward
force. May our whole church piove itself to be strong in the Lord, vand in the
power of His might, by unceasingly carrying on its work of faith and labour of love !
"In these days, we arc regarded as Puritanical and old-fashioned ; and this
230 C. H. SPURGEONS AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
description, I trust, we shall never be ashamed of, but wear it as an ornament. The
Did orthodox faith is to us no outworn creed of past ages, but a thing of power,
a joy for ever. In the Name of the Lord, who by that faith is honoured, we
press forward to proclaim again and again the doctrines of the grace of God,
the efficacy of the blood of the Divine Substitute, and the power of the
Eternal Spirit ; and we feel assured that, whoever may oppose, the omnipotent
gospel will prevail.
"The multitudes are hungering for that old-fashioned bread whereon their
fathers fed, and too many preachers now give them newly-carved stones, and bid
them admire the skill of the modern sculptors. We mean to keep to the distribution
of bread, and the stone-cutters will meet with no competition from us in their
favourite amusement. But, brethren, only a living church — holy, prayerful, active,
• — can make the old truth victorious. Linked with a mass of mere profession,
it will perform no exploits. To you and to me there is a growing call for
greater spirituality, and more Divine power, for the work before us increases in
difficulty.
" The Lord be with you all, and with your Pastor, deacons, and elders ! So
prays —
" Yours lovingly,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
The officers and members of the church took many opportunities of assuring
the Pastor of their unwavering attachment and unabated affection. His seasons of
sickness afforded occasions for the expression of special sympathy and love. The
following letter, written by Mr. B. Wildon Carr, and adopted at a full meeting
of the church at the close of the service on a Lord's-day evening, is a sample
of the communications that helped to cheer Mr. Spurgeon when laid aside from
active labour for the Lord : —
" Very dear and highly-esteemed Pastor,
" Meeting around the communion table of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ, we are all of us, this night, sad and sorrowful because of your
illness ; and one impulse fills every heart, we are unanimous in the desire to
offer you some expression of our heartfelt sympathy.
° "We had hoped that, after a few days' rest, you would have been relieved
of the bodily pain, the physical weakness, and the mental depression with which
it has pleased our Heavenly Father to visit you. The Lord has done it. We
accept the affliction, as you do, from the hand of God. But we cannot help
comparing you to a warrior wounded in action, or to a physician prostrated with
(jxertions to prescribe for patients that importune him on every side. For the
C. H. SrURGEON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 23I
work of Christ, you have been nig-h unto death, not regarding your Hfe, to supply
a lack of service toward us.
"We cannot forget that this visitation came upon you immediately after a
season of heavy labour, remarkable energy, and (as we cannot doubt) of heavenly
'joy in the service of Christ, of this church, and of other churches. It seems to
us meet, therefore, that we should attribute the cause of it to a natural infirmity
of the flesh, and not in any wise to the severity of the Lord's chastening.
" Beloved Pastor, we remember, with tender gratitude, how generously you
have always associated us with you in all the success and prosperity that, through
the power of the Holy Spirit, have attended your ministry. We never could
doubt your sincerity, in offering the praise to God, when we witnessed your
humility in imparting so much of the credit (entirely due to yourself) to the
unworthy brethren and sisters who watch and pray with you, while we account
it a high privilege to follow our Lord and Master, as you lead our forces.
"With the affection we bear you, we can truly say that we should account it
a happiness to bear your sufferings amongst us ; some of us would gladly take
them all, if we could thereby relieve you of the heavy cross that bows you
down. As we sit before the Lord, we think of you, as the people said to
David, 'Thou art worth ten thousand of us.' Kindly accept, then, our united
expression of love in Christ Jesus, tendered to you in a solemn hour. It may
be superfluous to you, but it is refreshing to us to get an opportunity of
communicating with you in your sick chamber.
" May the Lord look tenderly upon you in your affliction ! May He
graciously remember your work and labour of love, in that you have ministered
to the saints, and do minister! May He be very attentive to our prayers and
intercessions on your behalf, that you may be restored to us, not in weakness
and decrepitude, but in the fulness of vigour, with your youth renewed like the
eagle's, — and that right early ! "
(Signed, on behalf of the church, by fifteen deacons and elders.)
It is significant that only two of the church-officers whose signatures were
appended to the letter — one deacon and one elder — still survive.
The following extracts from a letter, written by Mr. Carr to his absent
Pastor at Mentone, will still further indicate the loving relationship which existed
between Mr. Spurgeon and those who laboured with him in the gospel : —
" My Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" I cannot doubt that you receive, through one and another, full
accounts of all matters that relate to the Tabernacle, and the Institutions connected
with it, m which many brethren feel the high honour of being associated with you.
232 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
We are continually hearing- of letters you have sent in reply to those that have been
written to you.
" I often think that, if you could hear In what manner you are spoken of,
and in what love and tender regard you are held by your church-officers, you
would blush a little. And, then, if you heard the members of the church ask after
your health, and say how sorry they were that you purposed coming home so
soon, and how sincerely they wished you would stay till these biting winds had
ceased to blow, you would be jealous of yourself with a jealousy that might be very
justifiable. If you were to hear what the outside public are constantly saying of
you, you might be astonished, but you would be gratified, for, very ob\iously,
there are thousands, who love not the Lord Jesus Christ, who look upon you as
one of the best men that ever lived, and one who is doing great good to his fellows.
" Your long affliction, and your tedious banishment, have already borne some
peaceable fruits. The stable character of your work has been proved. Had the
church been built on the basis of your popularity as a preacher, the congregations
would not have been so well kept up in your absence ; but, so far from that being
the case, the prayer-meetings and the weekly communion services are well attended, -
even when the severe weather, had you been here, would have been sufficient to
account for some deficiencies. This has been no ordinary winter. Your brother
was saying, the other day, that, although we have not yet completed the first
qjuxrter of the year, the deaths have already exceeded the average for the half-
year. That may not be so gloomy as it sounds. The depression in the temperature
has possibly hastened the exit of some whose constitutions would not have held
out for the year, and so the average, of which he speaks, may tell no more than
its usual tale when the next annual meeting comes round. If, then, the number
of your twinges and groans has been reduced by the retreat to a more sheltered
locality, let us be thankful, and hope for you a full community on your return.
"What a nice deacons' meeting we had on Friday! There was a lull muster
of brethren ; not one was absent, but the one to whom we all look as Pastor,
President, father, and friend. And yet, to the imagination of each one, he was
present. No matter was broached without a distinct intimation, on the part of
every one, to consult his wishes. This was the rallying-point of harmonious
thought and feeling that became almost pathetic as the meeting proceeded. The
secretary will have his work cut out if he tries to make the minutes reflect the
business of the evening. I will not attempt it. From resolutions we abstained ;
and the recommendations were left to our chairman, the Co-pastor, to formulate,
and forward for your approval."
On May 10, 1881, Mr. William Olney wrote to his suffering Pastor a letter
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 233
of loving sympathy, in which he gave a cheering account of the progress of
various portions of the work at the Tabernacle, and then added: — "You will,
I am sure, excuse me for writing rather a long letter to you to-day, as it is my
sixtieth birthday. I want to tell you how thankful I am that my lot has been
cast, in the good providence of God, under your ministry, and how grateful I am
to you for the many years of blessing and instruction I have spent sitting at
your feet. I have had great pleasure, for many years, in daily commending you
to God, and in doing what I can to assist you in your earnest efforts for God's
glory and the good of souls ; but I fear I have done but little. Oh, that it
were more ! Words cannot express the debt of love I owe to you ; and you
must kindly excuse my infirmity in not being able to show it better in deeds than
I have done."
To the end of his life, Mr. William Olney's loving esteem for his Pastor
remained unchanged ; and when he was "called home," he was sorely missed.
The year which was to witness the joyful celebration of Mr. Spurgeon's Jubilee
opened for him under trying circumstances. He was away at Mentone, very ill ;
yet the following letter seems to have caught some of the brightness of the sunny
land where it was penned : —
" Mentone,
" Jan. 10, 1884.
" Dear Friends,
" I am altogether stranded. I am not able to leave my bed, or to find
much rest upon it. The pains of rheumatism, lumbago, and sciatica, mingled
together, are exceedingly sharp. If I happen to turn a little to the right hand or to
the left, [ am soon aware that I am dwelling in a body capable of the most acute
suffering.
" However, I am as happy and cheerful as a man can be. I feel it such a great
relief that I am not yet robbing the Lord of my work, tor my holiday has not quite
run out. A man has a right to have the rheumatism if he likes when his time is his
own. The worst of it is, that I am afraid I shall have to intrude into my Master's
domains, and draw again upon your patience. Unless I get better very soon, I
cannot get home in due time ; and I am very much afraid that, it I did return
at the date arranged, I should be of no use to you, for I should be sure to be
laid aside.
"The deacons have written me a letter, in which they unanimously recommend
me to take two more Sundays, so that I may get well, and not return to you an
invalid. I wrote to them saying that I thought I must take a week ; but as I do not
get a bit better, but am rather worse, I am afraid I shall have to miake it a fortnight.
234 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHT.
as they proposed. Most men find that they go right when they obey their wives ;
and as my wife and my deacons are agreed on this matter, 1 am afraid I should go
doubly wrong if I ran contrary to them. I hope you will all believe that, if the
soldier could stand, he would march ; and if your servant were able, he would work ;
but when a man is broken in two by the hammer of pain, he must wait till he gets
spliced again.
" May the best of blessings continue to rest upon you ! May those who supply
my place be very graciously helped by the Spirit of God !
"Yours, with all my heart,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
The Pastor often referred, as he did in this letter, to his "ricrht" to be ill durino-
his holiday ; but the next communication from his church-officers shows that their
regrets on account of his sufferings, at such times, were intensified by the knowledge
that, instead of joyously resting and being refreshed, he was enduring painful
afflictions.
In January, 1885, instead of being in the sunny South, as he had hoped
to be, Mr. Spurgeon was still at home, too ill to travel. At a special church-
meeting, held at the Tabernacle, on January 12, it was unanimously and heartily
resolved that the following letter should be forwarded to " Westwood " : —
" Dear Pastor,
" We have heard, with profoinid grief, that you have been unable to go
out on your proposed visit to Mentone in consequence of severe and painful illness
during the past week. Our sincere sympathy is rather increased than lessened
by the reflection that this season of affliction has not been borrowed from your
time of service for the church, but from the period of recreation to which you
have a perfect right as well as a hearty welcome.
"While devoutly recognizing the hand of the Lord in this and in all other
dispensations of His providence, we feel that it cannot be irreverent to seek
some clear interpretation of the will of our Heavenly Father. Can we be mistaken
in supposing diat the lesson to us and to yourself is transparent ? Your arduous
labours, and your incessant anxieties, so far exceed the average strength of your
constitution, that there is an imperative demand for you to take longer and more
frequent occasions of retirement, and to take them, not when you have used
up ' the last ounce of your strength,' but when you are in unimpaired vigour.
" Under present circumstances, we earnestly entreat you to consecrate at least
three months to entire relaxation from the duties of your sacred office ; and if it
C. H. SPURGEONS AUTOBIOGRAPHY, ' 235
seem good to you, let the appointment of supplies for your pulpit be left to the
Co-pastor and the deacons, subject always to their accepting any suggestion of
yours, and their communicating to you every arrangement of theirs, as is their
habitual wont.
"And accept, herewith, our assurance, as a church, that we will all unite
in a strong determination to support the good work of the Tabernacle by constant
attendance, both on Sundays and week-evenings, and by offering our full contri-
butions to the support of the various institutions of the church.
" With sincere affection, and unceasing prayers for your recovery,
" We are, dear Pastor,
" Yours ever lovingly,"
(Signed by the church-officers.)
On his recovery, the Pastor left for Mentone, and he was therefore absent at
the time of the annual church-meeting ; but he wrote the following letter to be
read to the members : —
" Mentone,
" February 9, 1885.
"To the Church in the Tabernacle, ■
" Beloved in the Lord,
" I salute you all right heartily. I regret that an annual church-meeting
should be held without me ; but I know that all things will be done rightly, for the
Spirit of God is among you.
" I write only to send my love, and to assure you that I am greatly profiting by
the rest which has been given me. I am weak indeed, but I feel much more myself
again. I have learned, by experience, that I must go away in November each year,
or else I shall be at home ill. If the Lord will help me through the other months
of the year, I might rest in November and December with a clear economy of time.
I want to do the most possible ; and, on looking over the past, this appears to be
the wisest way.
"The other matter is, — the elders propose special services, and my whole
heart says 'Yes.' If the church takes it up, the result will be, with the Divine
blessing, a great ingathering. Mem.bers canvassing from door to door, and leaving
a sermon, might do much good. I will subscribe ^5 towards a fund for sermons,
suitably selected, to be given away. The chief point is, to get the people in, not by
bribing them with tea, etc., but by fair persuasion. Oh, for a great blessing !
" I feel grieved to be out of the running, but I cannot help it. I can pray, and
I do. Rally round your leaders. Pray with double earnestness. Be instant in
season and out of season. Attempt great things, and expect great things.
236 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
" IVIay the Lord bless, guide, comfort, strengthen and uphold the Co-pastor,
deacons, elders, and every one of you, for Jesus' sake !
" Yours in hearty affection,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
" I hope you will re-elect the treasurer and all the elders ; they cannot be
improved upon."
On the proposition of Mr. William Olney, the following congratulatory reso-
lution was sent to the Pastor : —
" Resolved that, in review of the past year, we congratulate our dear Pastor
on the good hand of the Lord which has been with him, and with us. Three
circumstances, each of double significance, have distinguished this year from other
years in our history.
"The first is, that, while an unusually bright summer diminished the attendance
of our church-members, an extraordinary influx of rural visitors to the ' Healtheries
Exhibition ' secured the crowding of the Metropolitan Tabernacle to its utmost
capacity.
"The second is, that, although Mr. Spurgeon's severe indisposition, in the
autumn, deprived us of his services on many successive Lord's-days, his son
Thomas, home from New Zealand, most acceptably supplied the pulpit in his
absence.
"The third is, that, notwithstanding a long death-roll, our band of deacons
remains unbroken ; and only one of our beloved elders, a brother ripe in years as
well as in grace, has been taken from among us.
" To these reasons for heartfelt gratitude, we must add a fourth, which we
record with unmlngled satisfaction. It is that another volume of our dear Pastor's
sermons has been placed on our bookshelves, fully equal in freshness and force, in
unction and usefulness, to any of the twenty-nine volumes that preceded it."
The following chapter will prove that the church-officers and members showed
their sympathy with Mr. Spurgeon not only by loving letters and cordial resolutions,
but also by practical and substantial tokens of their aft'ection and esteem.
CHAPTER XCVIII.
3abiltt 3013S.
The river of our peace at certain seasons overflows its banks ; and, at times, the believer's
joy is exceeding great. Even princes, who fare sumptuously every day, have their special banquets ;
and this Jubilee of my life is a true Jubilee of joy, not only to myself, but to every member of my
family. —C. H. S., in sermon preached at the Tabej-nacte in celebration of the completion of his fiftieth year.
UNE 19, 1884, was one of the red-letter days in Mr. Spurgeon's
history, for he then completed the fiftieth year of his life. At the
annual church-meeting-, held in the Tabernacle, on February 13,
the following resolution was unanimously and enthusiastically
passed : — "That the church gratefully recognizes the goodness
of Almighty God in sparing to it, and to the Christian Church
at large, the invaluable life of our beloved Pastor, C. H. Spurgeon ; and that,
in order worthily to celebrate his Jubilee, a suitable memorial be raised, and
presented to him ; and that it be an instruction to the deacons to take this
matter vigorously in hand, and to carry it forward as they may deem best."
The deacons, having received that instruction from their fellow-members, lost
no time a considering the best method of carrying it into effect ; indeed, they
were the first to suggest that such a notable period in the Pastor's life must
not be allowed to pass without due recognition ; and, with their usual generosity,
they headed " the list of love " which was immediately commenced. They had,
at first, just the same difficulty as when they were arranging for the pastoral
silver wedding testimonial, for Mr. Spurgeon again insisted that, whatever amount
was raised should be devoted to the Lord's work, and not be for his own personal
benefit. No doubt this restriction somewhat reduced the total sum ultimately
reached, for many generous helpers said that, as the Pastor gave away the whole
of the ^6,500 presented to him in 1879, and as they were constantly contributing
to the various Institutions under his charge, they wished, on this occasion, to give
him substantial tokens of their ever-growing love and esteem for himself. It
will be seen, from his address acknowledging the testimonial, that he consented,
under the urgent entreaties of the donors, to take some portion of the amount
for himself; but, even then, he simply took it that he might give it away, again ;
and the only way in which a few very special friends could make sure of his
reception of their gifts was to send something direct to him for ornament or use
in his home.
2.:i8
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
On May 6, a few friends met the deacons, to hear how the matter was
progressing, to make further contributions to the fund, and to consult as to the final
arrangements with regard to its presentation. Up to that night, about ^i,ooo had
been received or promised, — just the amount which it was estimated would be
required to pay for the Jubilee House, at the back of the Tabernacle, which was
then being erected as a permanent memorial of the Pastor's fiftieth year. On the
side of that building is a marble slab, which is here reproduced.
JUNE 19Tf. 1884.
WITH GRATITUDE AND GLADNESS
THIS HOUSE WAS ERECTED TO COMMEMORATE
C. H SPURGEON,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCH AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE.
Eo tl)E ILorti be glorn for all tljc faork
to!jic[) ?^: fjas toroiigljt among Ijis pcaplc.
"Thou HAST THRUST SORE AT METHATI MIGHT FALL:
but the lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and song,
AND is become MY SALVATION.
The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the
tabernacles of the righteous.
The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly:
The right hand of the Lord
is exalted :
The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly.
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the Lord.
The Lord hath chastened me sore,
BUT He hath not given me over unto death."
PSALM CXVIII. 13—18.
COPY OF MARBLE SLAB AND INSCRIPTION ON JUBILEE HOUSE.
Concerning this inscription, Mr. Spurgeon wrote: — "The somewhat lengthy
quotation from the Psalm is an accurate photograph of the Pastor's personal
experience, and of the triumphs of the Lord in the adjoining Tabernacle. Power
has been seen in weakness, healing by sickness, and joy through sorrow." Mr.
Spurgeon preached upon the various verses here engraved, and he intended to
make a book of these sermons, and of personal memories of the Lord's goodness ;
but the work of revising the discourses was, through illness and the pressure
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRATHY. 239
of Other service, so long delayed, that the publication ot the proposed volume
had to be abandoned. The manuscripts were, however, carefully preserved for
future use in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit. A very pathetic interest now
attaches to the sermon issued for reading- on January 3, 1892, for it was the
first that Mr. Spurgeon had been able to prepare for the press after his long
illness, and the last but one that he ever revised. The other three sermons,
preached from the texts on the Jubilee House, were published, in due course, in
October, 1897, ^"*^ the four together form a choice memorial of a notable period
in the great preacher's life.
As the date of the celebration of the Jubilee approached, many references
to it appeared in the religious and secular newspapers, the most noteworthy being
the articles in the Pall Mall Gazette of June 18 and 19, 1884. They were the
result of Mr. Spurgeon's compliance with the request contained in the following
letter from the Editor, Mr. W. T. Stead : —
" Dear Sir,
"You are, I am aware, one of the busiest men in London. But I
venture to ask you to spare me a morsel of your leisure to have a talk over
things in view of your approaching Jubilee, — your long and successful labours in
London, and the general result .at which you have arrived after going through it
all. That, of course, for the paper and the public. Besides this, I should be
very glad to have an opportunity personally of placing myself in immediate com-
munication with one who has been such a power for good in London and throughout
the world. I also am very busy, but any day after 1 2 I am at your service if
you can spare me time for an interview. I ha\e the honour to be,
"Your obedient servant,
" W. T. Stead."
The report of the interview contained allusions to many subjects either of
passing or permanent interest. The whole conversation was, more or less, of an
autobiographical character, the opening paragraphs dealing with the subject of
religious endowments. Mr. Stead wrote : —
" Mr. Spurgeon is one of the most genial of hosts, and in the course of a
couple of hours spent in strolling about his well-wooded grounds, or in gossiping
in his library, his visitor was able to gather his views concerning a great number
of the questions of the day. He found Mr. Spurgeon, as is not to be wondered
at, a strong believer in the one-man power. 'Wherever anything is to be done,'
said he, ' either in the Church or the world, you may depend upon it, it is done
by one man. The whole history of the Church, from the earliest ages, teaches
the same lesson. A Moses, a Gideon, an Isaiah, and a Paul are from time to time
240
H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
raised up to do an appointed work ; and when they pass away, their work appears
to cease. Nor is it given to everyone, as it was to Moses, to see the Joshua who
is destined to carry on his work to completion. God can raise up a successor to
each man, but the man himself is not to worry about that matter, or he may do
harm. Hence I am against all endowments for religion ; it is better to spend the
money for immediate needs. I am not even in favour of endowing my own College.
Someone made me an ofler, the other day, to found a scholarship in connection with
it, but I declined it. Why should I gather money, which would remain after I am
gone, to uphold teaching of which I might entirely disapprove ? No ! let each
generation provide for its own wants. Let my successor, if I have one in the
College, do as I have done, and secure the funds which he needs for his own
teaching. I wish there were no religious endowments of any shape or kind among
Dissenters or Churchmen, for I never yet knew a chapel, possessing an endowment,
which did not find that, instead of its being a blessing, it was a curse. One great
object of every religious teacher should be to prevent the creation of external
appliances to make his teaching appear to live when it is dead. If there were no
endowments, an error would soon burst up, whereas an artificial vitality is imparted
to it by bolstering it up with endowments.'
"'Then you have faith for yourself, Mr. Spurgeon, but none for your
successor?' queried the visitor.
"'A man does very well,' was the reply, 'who has faith for himself; but how
can he undertake to have faith for another ? I am no believer In sponsorship.
Wlio knows where my successor may be? He may be in America, or in Australia,
or I know not where. As for the Tabernacle, the man who occupies my place,
when I pass away, will have to depend upon his own resources, upon the support
of his people, and the grace of God, as I have done ; and if he cannot do that,
let him come to the ground, for he will not be the fitting man for the post.' "
One other paragraph may be quoted, pardy because of the reference made to it
by Dr. Peter Bayne : —
'' ' In theology,' said Mr. Spurgeon, ' I stand where I did when I began
preaching, and I stand almost alone. If I ever did such a thing, I could preach
my earliest sermons now without change so far as the essential doctrines are
concerned. I stand almost exacdy where Calvin stood In his maturer years ; — ■
not where he stood In his Instiiut'es, which he wrote when quite a young man,
but in his later works ; that position is taken by few. Even those who occupy
Baptist pulpits do not preach exacdy the same truths that I preach. They see
things differently ; and, of course, they preach In their own way. Although few
will deny the wonderful power of the truth as It has been preached at the
Tabernacle, It is not according to their method ; yet it is the Calvinistic way of
c. h: spurgeon's autobiography. 241
looking at things which causes my sermons to have such acceptance in Scotland,
in Holland, and even in the Transvaal, where a recent traveller expressed his
astonishment at finding translations of them lying beside the family Bible in a
great many of the farmsteads of the country. I am aware that my preaching
repels many ; that I cannot help. If, for instance, a man does not believe in
the inspiration of the Bible, he may come and hear me once ; and if he comes
no more, that is his responsibility, and not mine. My doctrine has no attraction
for that man ; but I cannot change my doctrine to suit him.' "
Shortly after the publication of the second article in the Pall Mall Gazette,
the following letter reached the Pastor : —
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
"It is within the range of possibility that, in your collection of old
lumber, you have some scrap of mine which had its place among those ' paper
bullets of the brain ' whose impact did you, it seems, no harm. My present
notions about you are contained in the enclosed article, which you may have seen
in Thursday's Christian World. The writing of it gave me unfeigned pleasure.
" I have, for many months, been working strenuously at the original sources
for a Life of Luther ; and being thus led to visit one of the grand fountains of
Evangelical inspiration, I have felt my own early Evangelicalism plunged, as it
were, in a bath of life. But I do not think that I have eve'r wavered in my
conviction that, for man and for nations of men, the hope of salvation is renewal
in the life of Christ. Yours has been a glorious privilege, — to preach Christ, with
Divine recognition so decisive, for nearly forty years.
" What you said about Calvin to the Pall Mall interviewer interests me
much. Since making a careful examination of his theology and life, I have
transcendently honoured that man. But I measure him chiefly by the Institutes ;
and am very curious to know how you would define his later and ' maturer '
position. Do not put pen to paper on the subject ; but if you have published
your view in sermon or book, I should be much obliged by being told how I
can obtain it. Perhaps one of your secretaries would send me the necessary word.
" I know you are too magnanimous to retain the least little particle of
grudge against me, and you and Mrs. Spurgeon have no more sincere admirer
or affectionate well-wisher than I.
" Faithfully yours,
" Peter Bayne."
The actual celebration of the Jubilee commenced on Wednesday, June 18, i;
when the Pastor sat in his vestry, from twelve to five o'clock, to receive the
congratulations of friends, and contributions to be passed on to the treasurers of
Q4
242 C. H. SPURGEONS AUTOBIOGRArHY.
the testimonial fund. Then, several hundreds of the church-members were enter-
tained at tea in the rooms under the Tabernacle, and afterwards the great
sanctuary was crowded with an enthusiastic audience. Such vast numbers of
people were anxious to be present, that two evenings had to be set apart for
the meetings ; and, even then, hundreds of applicants for tickets had to be refused,
for so many applied that, if the building had been twice as large, there would
have been no difficulty in filling it on both nights.
Little did the cheering thousands know of the Intense anxiety that was felt
by a few of the Tabernacle officials, and other friends who shared with them a
terrible secret. Just at that time, in various quarters of London, there had been
threats of desperate deeds by Fenians, or those in sympathy with them ; and an
intimation, which the police authorities dared not disregard, had been given that
the Tabernacle was to be blown up on the night of Mr. Spurgeon's Jubilee. It
seemed scarcely possible that such a diabolical scheme of wholesale destruction
of human life could have been devised ; but every precaution was taken to prevent
it becoming an awful reality. There probably had never been so many detectives
and policemen in the building before ; and when the proceedings on the second
night were over, and the delighted audience had dispersed, there were private
but grateful thanksgivings that all had gone off without even a note of alarm ;
yet, for a considerable period afterwards, it was deemed advisable to have a
special watch kept in case any attempt of the kind indicated might be made.
With thoughtful and tender solicitude, all knowledge of the threatened explosion
was kept from the Pastor ; and it was only when he was in the carriage, on his
way home, that Mrs. Spurgeo'n told him the alarming news which had occupied
her thoughts during the evening, and together they gave thanks that the evil
had been averted.
The Wednesday evening meeting was specially intended for the members of
the church and congregation, and representatives of the many missions, schools,
and agencies connected with the Tabernacle. The number of these various forms
of work for the Lord may be judged from the fact that the list of them occupied
more than half a page in The Sword and the Trowel, while nearly as large a
space was required for the names of the various religious societies, at home and
abroad, from which addresses of congratulation had been received.
The Pastor presided, and it was to him a source of intense thankfulness that
Mrs. Spurgeon was able to be present on both the evenings, to share with him
the joys of the Jubilee, after so many years' enforced absence from the Tabernacle
through severe illness. The keynote of the whole of the gatherings was struck,
at the commencement of the meeting, by the Pastor's opening sentences : — " 1 do
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
243
not think anybody imagines that I ought to speak at any great length to-night,
but I should like to say very much in very little. I feel overwhelmed with oratitude
to you, dear friends, and because of you, to God. After the kind words which many
of you have spoken to me, I have much to do not to cry ; indeed, I have had a little
distillation of the eyes quietly, and I feel very much like weeping now, at the
remembrance of all the good and gracious things that have been said to me this
day. But let me say this tor my speech : the blessing- which I have had here, for
many years, must be entirely attributed to the grace of God, and to the workino-
of God's Holy Spirit among us. Let that stand as a matter, not only taken for
granted, but as a fact distinctly recognized among us. I hope, brethren, that none
of you will say that I have kept back the glorious work of the Holy Spirit. I have
tried to remind you of it, whenever I have read a chapter, by praying that God the
Holy Spirit would open that chapter to our minds. I hope I have ne\-er preached
without an entire dependence on the Holy Ghost. Our reliance upon prayer has
been very conspicuous ; at least, I think so. We have not begun, we have not
continued, we have not ended anything without prayer. We have been pluno-ed
into it up to the hilt. We have not prayed as we should ; but, still, we have
so prayed as to prevail ; and we wish It to be on record that we owe our success,
as a church, to the work ot the Holy Spirit, principally throuo-h Its leadino- us
to pray. Neither, as a church, have we been without a full conviction that, if
we are honest In our asking, we must be earnest in acting. It is no use askino-
God to give us a blessing If we do not mean it ; and If we mean It, we shall
use all the means appointed tor the gaining of that boon ; and that we have done.
One of my first duties, to-night, will be to remind this audience that it very
largely consists of representatives from the various Institutions. A partial list
will be read to you ; but, Incomplete as it I?, It Is a long one ; and though one or
two of the Institutions represented ma\^ be small ones, yet many of them are so
large that they might have constituted public societies having annual meetlno-s at
Exeter Hall ; and these things have sprung out ol this church through that same
Holy Spirit who set us praying and set us working.
" Next to that, It behoves me to say that I owe the prosperitv I have had in
preaching the gospel to the gospel which I have preached. I wish everybody
thought as much, but there are some who will have it that there is somethino- very
particular and special about the preacher. Well, I believe that there mav be
something peculiar about the man, something odd, perhaps. He cannot help that,
but he begs to say there is nothing about him that can possibly account tor the o-reat
and long-continued success attending his labours. Our American friends are
generally very 'cute judges, and I have a good many times read their opinion of me,
and they say over and over again, ' Well, he is no orator. We have scores of better
244
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
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C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
245
246 C. H. SPURGEOn's AUTOBIOGRArHY.
preachers in America than Mr. Spurgeon, but it is evident that he preaches the
gospel as certain of our celebrated men do not preach it.' I so preach the gospel
that people coming to hear it are impressed by it, and rejoice to rally to the standard.
I have tried, and I think successfully, to saturate our clear friends with the doctrines
of grace. I defy the devil himself ever to get that truth out of you if God the
Holy Spirit once puts it into you. That grand doctrine of substitution, which is at
"the root of every other, — you have heard it over and over and over and over again,
and you have taken a sure grip of it. Never let it go. And I say to all preachers
who fail in this matter, that I wish they would preach more of Christ, and try to
preach more plainly. Death to fine preaching ! There is no good in it. All the
glory of words and the wisdom of men will certainly come to nought ; but the
simple testimony of the goodwill of God to men, and of His sovereign choice of
His own people, will stand the test, not only of the few years during which I have
preached it, but of all the ages of this world till Christ shall come. I thank you,
dear friends, for all your love and your kindness to me, but I do attribute even that,
in great measure, to the fact that you have been fed with the pure gospel of the
grace ot God. I do not believe that the dry, dead doctrine of some men could ever
have evoked such sympathy in people's hearts as my gospel has aroused in yours.
I cannot see any reason in myself why you should love me. I confess that I would
not go across the street to hear mvself preach ; but I dare not say more upon that
matter, because my wife is here. It is the only point upon which we decidedly
differ ; I differ in toto from her estimate of me, and from your estimate of me, too ;
but yet I do not wish you to alter it."
Mr. B. \V. Carr read the congratulatory address which was published at the
time in The Sivord and the Troivel, but for which space cannot be spared here ; the
Pastor's father, brother, and son Charles briefly spoke ; Pastor Archibald G. Brown
and Mr. H. H. Driver represented the past and present students of the College ;
Mr. S. R. Pearce was the speaker on behalf of the Sunday-school ; Mr. VV. J.
Orsman and Mr. W. Olney were the representatives of the missions which had
grown out of the church's work ; and Pastor W. L. Lang, F. R.G.S., presented
an address from the Baptist ministers of France ; but, remembering the world-
wide influence of the American evangelist, Mr. D. L. Moody, probably the most
important utterance, that night, was the testimony he gave to the blessing he had
derived from the Pastor's printed and spoken messages : — ■
" Mr. Spurgeon has said, to-night, that he has felt like weeping. I have
tried to keep back the tears, but I have not succeeded very well. I remember,
seventeen years ago, coming into this building a perfect stranger. Twenty-five
years ago, after I was converted, I began to read of a young man preaching in
c. H. spurgeon's autobiograpi'iy. 247
London with great power, and a desire seized me to hear him, never expecting
that, some day, I should myself be a preacher. Everything I could get hold of
in print that he ever said, I read. I knew very litde about religious things when
I was converted. I did not have what he has had, — a praying father. My father
died before I was four years old. I was thinking of that, to-night, as I saw Mr.
Spurgeon's venerable father here by his side. He has the advantage of me in
that respect, and he perhaps got an earlier start than he would have got if he
had not had that praying father. His mother I have not met; but most good
men have praying mothers, — God bless them! In 1867, I made my way across
the sea ; and if ever there was a sea-sick man for fourteen days, I was that one.
The first place to which I came was this building. I was told that I could not
get in without a ticket, but I made up my mind to get in somehow, and I succeeded.
I well remember seating myself in this gallery. I recollect the very seat, and
I should like to take it back to America with me. x'\s your dear Pastor walked
down to the platform, my eyes just feasted upon him, and my heart's desire for
years was at last accomplished. It happened to be the year he preached in the
Agricultural Hall. I followed him up there, and he sent me back to America
a better man. Then I began to try and preach myself, though at the time I little
thought I should ever be able to do so. While I was here, I followed Mr.
Spurgeon everywhere ; and when, at home, people asked if I had gone to this
and that cathedral, I had to say ' No,' and confess I was ignorant of them ; but
I could tell them something about the meetings addressed by Mr. Spurgeon. In
1S72, I thought I would come over again to learn a little more, and I found my
way back to this gallery. 1 have been here a great many times since, and I never
come into the building- without Qettinor a blessing to my soul. I think I have had
as great a one here to-night as at any other time I have been in this Tabernacle.
When I look down on these orphan boys, when I think of the 600 servants of
God who have gone out from the College to preach the gospel, of the 1,500 or
2,000 sermons from this pulpit that are in print, and of the multitude of books
that have come from the Pastor's pen, (Scripture says, ' Of making many books
there is no end,' and in his case it is indeed true,) I would fain enlarge upon all
these good works, but the clock shows me that, if I do, I shall not get to my other
meeting in time. But let me just say this, if God can use Mr. Spurgeon, why
should He not use the rest of us, and why should we not all just lay ourselves
at the Master's feet, and say to Him, 'Send me, use me'? It is not Mr. Spurgeon
who does the work, after all ; it is God. He is as weak as any other man apart
from his Lord. Moses was nothing, but Moses' God was almighty. Samson was
nothing when he lost his strength ; but when it came back to him, then he was
a mighty man ; and so, dear friends, be-ar in mind that, if we can just link our
248 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography,
weakness to God's strength, we can go forth, and be a blessing in the world. Now,
there are others to speak, and I have also to hasten away to another meeting,
but I want to say to you, Mr. Spurgeon, 'God bless you ! I know that you love
me, but I assure you that I love you a thousand times more than you can ever love
me, because you have been such a blessing to me, while I have been a very little
blessing to you. I have read your sermons for twenty-five years. You are never
going to die. John Wesley lives more to-day than when he was in the flesh ;
Whitefield lives more to-day than when he was on this earth ; John Knox lives
more to-day than at any other period of his life ; and Martin Luther, who has been
gone over three hundred years, still lives.' Bear in mind, friends, that our dear
brother is to live for ever. We may never meet together again in the flesh ; but, by
the blessing of God, I will meet you up yonder."
On Thursday evening, June 19, the Tabernacle was packed to its utmost
capacity, while crowds in vain sought admission. The Earl of Shaftesbury, K.G.,
presided, and delivered a notable testimony to the Pastor's faithfulness from the first
days of his ministry until that hour ; addresses were also given by the Revs. Canon
Wilberforce, J. P. Chown, O. P. Giff'ord (Boston, U.S.A.), Newman Hall, LL.B.,
W. Williams (Upton Chapel), and Joseph Parker, D.D., and Sir William McArthur,
M.P. ; the Jubilee address was again read by Mr. Carr, and the treasurers of the
testimonial fund presented to Mr. Spurgeon a cheque for ^4,500, " free from any
condition, and to remain absolutely at his disposal." In reply, the Pastor said : —
"The affectionate words to which I have listened have sunk into my heart. I
can take a very great deal of encouragement without being lifted up even to the
ordinary level, and all I have received will operate upon me more afterwards than
just now. But I am sure that the kindly pressure of the hand, and the way in which
friends, one after another, have told me that I led them to the Saviour, or that I
comforted them in the time of trouble, have been a very great joy to me. To God
be all the praise ; to me it is an overwhelming honour to be His servant. Had
there been no money whatever accompanying this celebration, I should have been as
well pleased as I am now ; for I never proposed a gift, and I never thought of it.
I did suggest that there should be some money gathered on account of the building
of the house at the back, which is for the use of this church ; I thought that a very
right and proper object.
" You will remember that, some years ago, you were so good as to give me
nearly ^6,500 as a testimonial ; and I went away, that night, with a very light heart,
because 1 had handed the whole amount over to you for the Almshouses and some
other works. That is exactly what I proposed to do to-night ; — just the same thing
over again, only that I am not permitted to do it. A very large number ot the
C, H. SrURGEON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 249
donors said that they would not give anything- if my Jubilee day was made a pretext
for assisting the societies. They put it as strongly as that ; they had contributed
the time before with the view of giving something to me, and they would not give a
second time unless it was for my personal benefit. At the start, in addition to paying
for the Jubilee House, I proposed four objects to be helped, and I asked the donors
to allot their money to one or other of those four as they pleased. In pursuance
of that request, there has been an allotment made. Judge how very litde that
idea seemed to take with our friends ! Having it before them, and having it pressed
upon them by myself, they have allotted £81 9s. 6d. to the Almshouses, ^31 to the
Colportage, ^74 to the Orphanage, and ^43 to my son's Tabernacle at Auckland ;
and there is a pound or two — perhaps three — allotted to societies, that is all ; and all
the rest is evidently le-ft, by the will of the friends, totally free. Well, it must be so,
and I accept the money for myself so far as that is the expressed desire ; only I do
not know how I can better have it than by being allowed to give it away. What I
have is best enjoyed by myself personally when I can use it in some way or other for
the advantage of the work of God. I cannot be debarred from this gratification. I
will go the length of saying that I will take some portion of this for myself. But, first,
of all, there will be ^1,000 needed to pay for the house, and furniture, and all sorts
of things. Then I want to give something to St. Thomas's Hospital, which helps
many ot our poor friends. Some years ago, my dear brother, Mr. Higgs, at my
request, paid the usual amount, and became one of the governors of the hospital.
He is gone, and I want to be a governor in succession to him, — not that I have any
interest to serve there except that of the sick poor. Then I want to give to the
church ^200, to make up what is given to the Almshouses to ;^200, and also to give
to the deacons ^100, which they may keep to lend to persons who can use a loan
^well. We have no money to lend, and I am the party who has to lend to every-
body. I do not go in for large loans ; but I speculate in sewing machines, and
mangles, and some other things of that sort. I should have a considerable number
if I ever had them back again, but that does not generally happen ; so I want other
persons to look after the things that are lent, and get the money back again, and I
think that would be very useful. I want, also, to give to the Baptist Fund for the
relief of poor ministers, ^50, on the behalf of my son Charles, to make him a
member of it. I should like to give ^100 to the fund for augmenting the salaries of
our poor brethren. I should like to make up the amount for Colportage work to
^200. I should like to give ^250 to the Tabernacle at Auckland. I should like to
give at least ^100 to my wife's Book Fund for poor rriinisters.
" I have a little list here ; but if I were to read any more, friends might object
that I was doing contrary to their wish. I must try and avoid all opposition to the
donors, and yet help my work and other work. I am called upon so much to help
■2^0 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
the building of chapels and such like things, that I am kept perpetually very poor ; —
not that I want anything. I have all things. I do not need this money ; but, still,
there has been a time when we expended all that we had, and we had nothing laid by
whatsoever. But if anybody supposes that I have a very large sum of money laid
by, I shall be very glad to let him make a bid for it. I think it is highly probable
that I should be a great gainer by the offer, even it it were a reasonable one. I had
a huoe fortune left me, as you know, some time ago, — in the moon. It was in the
papers everywhere ; that is where it was. When the papers hand it over, I shall be
crlad. It has ever been the case with me that, whenever I have had help given me,
there have been calls at once more than equal to it. On the last occasion when I
received a testimonial from you, I was greatly amused at the shoal of applicants who
wrote to me for the money. Though the papers stated that I gave it all back again,
these people applied for it all the same. One person wrote wanting help for her
husband, that he might pay his debts on his farm, amounting to some ^500, because
it was clear to her mind that I had such a lot of money that I did not want any more,
or else I should not have given back the testimonial. I could not see how, after I
had handed over the money, I could still give it to somebody else. I beg to give
notice that it will be useless to write to me lor this money, because I shall
be able to appropriate it without the assistance of friends. There are so many
Institutions here, and so much work to be done, that, whatever comes to me, the
first thing I begin to think of is, not 'What shall I do with it?' but 'In which
direction do I need it most .'* ' Our friend spoke the honest truth when he said,
' Money is just what the Pastor does want.' I am the pipe through which the
money runs. It runs in at one end, and it runs out at the other with extreme
rapidity ; and you may see daily what good it does. If you ever wish to see, go to
the Colleo-e ; 00 to the Almshouses ; go to the Orphanage ; go and see what God
has done through your liberality.
" I have coveted no man's silver or gold. I have desired nothing at your
hands, but that you love the Lord Jesus Christ, and ser\'e Him with all your
mio'ht. But I have coveted, and I do still covet to have a generous people
about me, because I am sure that it is to God's glory and to your own advantage
to be liberal to His cause. Poor men should give that they may not be always
poor. Rich men should give that they may not become poor. These are selfish
motives ; but, still, they are worthy to be mentioned. ' There is that scattereth,
and yet increaseth ; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth
to poverty.' As a general rule, he that keeps his substance will not find it multiply
under his hands ; but he that gives shall find that it is given back to him, ' good
measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over.' Besides, I
do not think much of giving when I have plenty to give with ; I like it better
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAl'IiY.
251
wnen I can pinch myself. If you pinch yourself, there is a sweetness about
giving to the Lord. What you do not want, you can dispense with, and exhibit
small love ; but when you come to what )'ou do want, and give that to the Lord,
then there comes to your own heart the comfortable assurance that you are really
doing it unto the Lord, because of the needs of His cause.
" Now I thank everybody who has gi\en a hundred pounds, and everybody
who has given a penny. God bless you, and return it to you in every wav !
One of our brethren told you, the other night, what once happened to me. I
had been preaching in a country place, and a good woman gave me five shillinos.
I said to her, 'Well, my dear friend, I do not want your money.' She said, ' But
you must take it ; I give it to you because I got good from you.' I said, 'Shall
I give it to the College ? ' She answered, ' I don't care about the Colleoe ; I
care about you.' 'Then I will give it to the Orphanage.' 'No,' she said,
'you take it yourself I said, ' You need it more than I do.' She replied, ' Now, do
you think that your Lord and Master would have talked like that to the
woman who came and broke the alabaster box over Him ^ I do not think He
would.' She added, ' I know you do not mean to be unkind ; I worked extra
to earn it, and I give it to you.' I told her that she owed me nothing, and
that woman owed the Lord everything, and asked, 'What am I to do with it?'
She said, ' Buy anything you like with it ; I do not care what. Only, mind,
you must have it lor yourself" I mention the incident because it is much in
that spirit that the friends have given this noble testimonial.
" The Lord bless you ! The Lord bless you ! The Lord bless you, yet
more and more, you and your children ! "
Mr. Spurgeon wrote many letters gratefully acknowledging the resolutions
of congratulation which he received in connection with his Jubilee. One of the
replies to friends at home, and another to those abroad, may be given as specimens
of the thankful epistles then written ; the first was addressed to the Western
Baptist Association : —
" Dear Friends,
" 1 feel greatly comforted and humbled by receiving your most loving
resolution. It is sweet to live in the affection of so many brethren, but it
involves a great responsibility. I join with you in praising God for His special
goodness to me ; and implore for you and all your churches renewed blessings
of a like character. The gospel of the grace of God is dear to us, and we do
not doubt that the Lord will bless its publication in e\-ery place. Every year
binds us more fast to the eternal verities, and to Him in whom they centre.
Let us be of good courage, and play the man for our Lord and His Word.
252 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
" With all my heart I thank you, and return the affection which suggested
your considerate action.
•' Your brother in our Lord Jesus,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
The Philadelphia Conference of Baptist ministers sent a loving resolution
of congratulation. The following reply was written to the secretary: —
" Dear Sir,
" I beg you to thank all the brethren on my behalf I am deeply
affected by your brotherly love. One touch of grace has, in a truer sense than a
touch of nature, made us all akin. I rejoice every day in the prosperity of the
Church of God in the United States. Your nation is but in its youth, and you are
educating it for a high career ; ours is old, and slow to learn, and we are with much
difficulty lighting its candle, lending it spectacles, and opening the Bible before it.
We cannot expect to teach Mr. Bull quite so readily as you teach Master Jonathan.
We will, however, do our best ; and you will pray for us, and God will bless us.
" I feel as if I was even now squeezing the hand of each minister, and receiving
a return grip. Take it as done. Thank you ! God bless you !
" Yours heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
A Spurgeon Jubilee Albimt was issued by Messrs. Passmore and Alabaster in
connection with the Pastor's completion of his fiftieth year ; he sent a copy of it to
Lord Shaftesbury, who replied as follows : —
" My Dear Friend,
"Your Jubilee Albitvi reached me some time ago. I am deeply obliged
to you for it, and still more for the touching and affectionate words you have
inscribed on the fly-leaf
" My daughter is writing for me, l^ecause I am still lying at full length in my
bed, where I have been since Saturday last. I am now, thank God, a great deal
better, but the attack has been very serious. I have been longing to come and see
you, but both in the number and the importance of engagements I ha\'e had more
than usual pressure this year ; and now, you see, I have lost a whole week by this
last attack.
"Still, I shall hope to see you again before I die. May our Lord ever be with
you, and bless you ! You know how truly I love and respect you.
" Yours very affectionately,
" Shaftesbury."
CHAPTER XCIX.
€\]t "lotoit^grabe" Contro&ersu, from JKr. Spurgtou's Standpoint.
Controversy is never a very happy element for the child of God: he would far rather be in com-
munion with his Lord than be engaged in defending the faith, or in attacking error. But the soldier ot
Christ knows no choice in his Master's commands. He may feel it to be better for him to lie upon the
bed of rest than to stand covered with the sweat and dust of battle ; but, as a soldier, he has learned to
obey, and the rule of his obedience is not his personal comfort, but his Lord's absolute command. The
servant of God must endeavour to maintain all the truth which his Master has revealed to him, because,
as a Christian soldier, this is part of his duty. But while he does so, he accords to others the liberty
which he himself enjoys. — C. H. S., in address at the Tabernacle, i86l.
A Christian minister must expect to lose his repute among men ; he must be willing to suffer
every reproach for Christ's sake; but, then, he may rest assured that he will never lose his real honour
if it be risked for the truth's sake, and placed in the Redeemer's hand. The day shall declare the
excellence of the upright, for it will reveal all that was hidden, and bring to the light that which was
concealed. There will be a resurrection of characters as well as of persons. Every reputation that has
been obscured by clouds of reproach, for Christ's sake, shall be rendered glorious when the righteous
shall " shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father." — C. H. S.
lust now, the Lord Jesus is betrayed by not a few of His professed ministers. He is being
crucified afresh in the perpetual attacks of scepticism against His blessed gospel ; and it may be that
things will wax worse and worse. This is not the first occasion when it has been so, for, at various
times in the history of the Church of God, His enemies have exulted, and cried out that the gospel of
past ages was exploded, and might be reckoned as dead and buried. For one, I mean to sit over against
the very sepulchre of truth. I am a disciple of the old-fashioned doctrine as much when it is covered
with obloquy and rebuke as when it shall again display its power, as it surely shall. Sceptics may seem
to take the truth, and bind it, and scourge it, and crucify it, and say that it is dead ; and they may
endeavour to bury it in scorn, but the Lord has many a Joseph and a Nicodemus who will see that all
due honour is done even to the body of truth, and will wrap the despised creed in sweet spices, and
hide it away in their hearts. They may, perhaps, be half afraid that it is really dead, as the wise men
assert ; yet it is precious to their souls, and they will come forth right gladly to espouse its cause, and
to confess that they are its disciples. We will sit down in sorrow, but not in despair; and watch until
the stone is rolled away, and Christ in His truth shall live again, and be openly triumphant. We shall
see a Divine interposition, and shall cease to fear; while they who stand armed to pre\-ent the resurrec-
tion of the grand old doctrine shall quake and become as dead men, because the gospel's everlasting
life has been vindicated, and they are made to quail before the brightness of its glory. — C. H. S., in
sermon at the Tubejnacle, 1878.
I protest that, if all the sages of the world were to utter one thundering sarcasm, if they con-
centrated all their scorn into one universal sneer of contempt, I do not think it would now affect me the
turn of a hair, so sure am I that my Lord will justify my confidence. — C. H. S., in sermon at the Taber-
nacle, 1878.
A man may sometimes seem self-assertive when, really, he has so completely lost himself in
God that he does not care what people think about him,— whether they regard him as an egotist or
not. Some men appear to be modest because they are proud, while others seem to be proud because
they have sunk themselves, and only speak so boldly because they have their Master's authority at
the back of their words. — C. H. S., in exposition of i Kings xvii. i.
As the Roman sentinel in Pompeii stood to his post even when the city was destroyed, so do
I stand to the truth of the atonement though the Church is being buried beneath the boiling mud-
showers of modern heresy. — C. H. S., in sermon at the Tabernacle, 1887.
254
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRArHY.
I might not have had such an intense loathing of the new theology if I had not seen so much
of its evil effects. I could tell you of a preacher of unbelief, whom I have seen, in my own vestry,
utterly broken down, driven almost to despair, and having no rest for the sole of his foot until he
came back to simple trust in the atoning sacrifice. If he were speaking to you, he would say,
"Cling to your faith, brethren; if you once throw away your shield, you will lay yourself open to
imminent dangers and countless wounds ; for nothing can protect you but the shield of faith," —
C. H. S., in address at College Conference, 1 89 1.
I am well content to go shares with those who have gone before me to the skies. Some of
them, as they burned to death for Christ's sake, cried aloud, " Christ is all. ' I am quite willing to
take my part with the apostles whom the wise men of to-day count to be fools; and with those
still greater fools, as many consider the Reformers who brought back into the light the great
doctrine of justification by faith., I am satisfied to tread the path my sires have trod; I have an
illustrious pedigree in the skies, and I will not snap that chain which links me with those who
have entered the glory-land. This faith saved them in the time of poverty, and persecution, and
martyrdom, and death : and it will save me. At any rate. I would sooner risk my soul on all the
difficulties of the old theology, so long tried and proved, than on all the beauties of the novel
doctrine taught by so many nowadays, I believe we are all of one mind upon this matter, and
some of us may live to see great alterations concerning the present popular teaching. We may
learn a lesson from what happened in the last century ; the style of much of the preaching was
such as tended to the emptying of chapels, and the multiplication of spiders. Nonconformity
gradually drifted away towards Unitarianism, and true religion would have become almost extinct
in England if the Lord had not raised up those two believing men, Whitefield and Wesley, ai;d
others likeminded, who were a great power for good in the land. And I believe the Lord has
raised us up, together with many others who hold the same faith, that we may fight this battle,
and win the victory, to the glory of His holy Name.
Whenever I have found myself represented as a fool because I cfing so tenaciously to the
old faith, I have thought to myself, "What man, by proclaiming any new doctrine, has been able
to draw such congregations as have filled the Tabernacle for the last quarter of a century simply
to listen to the preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified?" We do not set up to be anything
great in ourselves; but we do claim to be servants of the great God, believers in the great Saviour,
proclaimers of His great salvation, and, God helping us, we shall keep on c-jing this till we die;
and then, unto principalities and powers in the Heavenly places, we will make known the manifold
wisdom of God, — C, H, S., in address to students of the Pastors' College, 1885.
R. SPURGEON'S Standard Life could not be complete without
a' reference to that most sorrowful but important episode, — The
"Down-grade" Controversy; — yet how shall I dare to touch the
strings of that rifted lute } The lightest and most skilful fingers
could scarcely draw harmony from it now, and I would fain not
be expected to awaken any of its discords. Oh, for the guiding"
Hand to be laid on heart and brain and pen, that gently and tenderly, albeit
truthfully, the outlines of the sad story may be given !
There are many dear and able friends who could write the full history of
the Controversy ; but, after much thought and prayer, I have been led to allow
the shadow of the past to rest upon it in a measure, and to conceal, under a
generous silence, most' of the documentary and other evidence which could be
produced to prove the perfect uprightness, veracity, and fidelity of my dear husband
throughout the whole of the solemn protest which culminated in the "vote of
censure " by the Council of the Baptist Union ! Therefore, in accordance with
the autobiographical character of this record, the Controversy is sketched from
Mr. Spurgeon's own point of view ; — he tells the story in his own way, so that
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
255
only as much as he cnose to make known of the deepest grief of his noble life
is chronicled in these pages.
For the information of readers of the Autobiography, who are unacquainted
with my beloved's articles upon "The Down-grade," I thought it miciht be well
to include in this chapter a condensation, or summary of them ; but, on readinc*"
them with that object in view, I find it impossible to strike out a single word
of his protest. It is equally impossible to transfer it all to this work, so the only
course open to me is to omit it altogether, and to leave the testimony still to speak
for itself from the pages of The Szvord and the Trotvel. From August, 1887,
cO February, 1892, scarcely any number of the magazine appeared without some
reference to the Controversy and its various issues. The most pathetic "Note"
of all was written within a few days of my dear husband's home-going, for in it
he revealed the fact, already known to all who were nearest and dearest to him,
that his tight for the faith had cost him his life. Yet he never regretted the step
he had taken ; for, throughout the whole affair, he felt such a Divine compulsion
as Luther realized when he said, " I can do no other."
So far as the Baptist Union was concerned, little was accomplished bv
Mr. Spurgeon's witness-bearing and withdrawal. The compromise at the City
Temple, in April, 1888, confirmed the position of the modern-thought men in the
Union, and made "the vote of censure" the act of the whole assembly with the
exception of the noble seven who voted against it. But, in other respects, I
have had abundant proofs that the protest was not in vain. Many, who were
far gone on "the Down-grade," were stopped in their perilous descent, and, by
God's grace, were brought back to the Up-line ; others, who were unconsciously
slipping, were made to stand firmly upon the Rock ; while, at least for a time,
in all the churches. Evangelical doctrines were preached with a clearness and
emphasis which "had long -been lacking.
The ultimate results of the whole matter must be left in the hands of Him
who never makes a mistake, and who will, in His own right way, vindicate His
obedient and faithful servant from the " censure " so unjustly passed upon him.
Not long after Mr. Spurgeon's withdrawal from the Baptist Union, he went
to the South of France for much-needed rest ; and the letters he there wrote,
during that time of suffering and reproach, contained many allusions to the
painful subject. Naturally, those written to me referred to the more personal
and private aspects of the Controversy, as the following extracts will show : —
" I was greatly surprised at the note from (one of ' our own men '"),
oc6 c, H. spurgeon's autobiography.
but when we are in a battle, we must expect calamities. It is a serious matter
to know Junv to act ; but one thing is plain enough, I must go on clearing myself
of union with those who belong to the broad school. I felt so well, this afternoon,
when sitting under the palms, and as happy as a birdie beneath the blue sky.
Then came the letter, just to sober me, and drive me from the sunshine to my
Lord, who is the Sun itself I can bear anything for Jesus while His everlasting
arms are underneath me. The hills around Hyeres are called 'the mountains of
paradise,' but the serpent comes even here. Ah, well ! the Serpent-Killer is with
us, and He will subdue all things unto Himself I am sorry that the evil flood
should carry away one of my men ; but the wonder is, that more have not
o-one. It shows how much more evil was abroad than I dreamed of I have
done mv duty, even if all men forsake me. Those who write in The Freeman
and The Christian World show how everything I do can be misconstrued. Never-
theless, I know what I have done, and why I did it ; and the Lord will bear
me throuoh. In Him I rest, and I am in no haste to answer opponents, nor
even to think about them in a depressing way. What a providence that I am
here, out of call ! Luther was best at the Wartburg, was he not ? I did not
plan this, nor plan anything.
" What a farce about my seeing these brethren, privately, according to
Matt, xviii. 15! Why, I saw the Secretary and the President again and again;
and then I printed my plaint, and only left the Union when nothing could be
done. Now, something will be done. Not until I took the decided step could
I effect anything. Luther was very wrong to nail up his theses on the church
door ; he should have seen the Pope, and prayed with him ! Do not let these
things distress you, for my sake. The Lord will give both of us the heroic spirit
and we shall neither fear men, nor become ungenerous toward them."
"Canon Sidebotham called yesterday to assure me of the sympathy of all
Ckristian Churchmen, and his belief that my stand for truth will help all believers.
He told me that he meets with amazing scepticism among young men whom he
has been called to visit in sickness, and he believes there is an epidemic of it
everywhere. He says the antidote was needed, and came just at the right time.
So may God grant !
"How I do delight in the Lord! I am now consciously nearer to Him than
ever before, and I revel in a sense of blessedness. I am delivered from all fear
of failing in this battle ; and the Lord, whom I sought to honour, bows me low
at His feet in gratitude for His tender mercies. We are safe in His hands.
This is where I love to feel that I am, and that you are, and the dear boys,
and the Church, and the College, and ' the Down-grade,' and all !"
C. H. SPURGEONS AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 257
" I trust I may be made stronger for the stern task which awaits me ; but
T try not even to think of that, but just to abandon myself to a bath of rest.
This, I trust, is the wisest course ; and yet I keep on longing- to be doing some
good, or bearing some fruit unto the Lord. Litde occasions for this do occur,
and I am eager to use them aright.
"Yesterday was eventful. First came a telegram, saying that there had been
a hot discussion, and that my brother had left the Council meeting in indignation
because my veracity had been impugned. Just as I was going to rest came another
telegram : — 'Council has appointed Culross, McLaren, Clifford, and myself to confer
with you at Mentone, without delay, to deliberate with you how the unity of our
denomination in truth, and love, and good works may be maintained. When can
we see you ? Letter sent. Booth.' Think of four doctors of divinity coming all
this way to see me ! I was in great perplexity, and knew not what to reply: I
don't quite see what it all means. I lay awake till one o'clock, and then got a
pencil, and wrote out a telegran> : — 'Cannot reply without further information.
Respectfully request deputation to await my return. Tone of discussion suggests
caution. Will write.' Afterwards, I wrote a letter. BrieHy, I urge them not to
come so far ; — it would be four to one, and I should be at the disadvantage of having
been the cause of great expense. If they really mean brotherly conference, I will
see them when I return, right gladly ; that is to say, if I find there is any use in it.
Now I shall need wisdom. I do not fear four doctors, but I think it a very wise
move on their part. If it means that they will surrender, it is well ; but if it
is meant to fix on me the odium of being implacable, it is another matter. In
any case, the Lord will prepare me for all that is to happen. It is of His mercy
that I am here, or I should not be able to bear it all ; but being quiet, and rested,
and not worried by personal assaults, I can look round the question calmly.
"The four doctors are not coming. Very likely my brother will call to tell you
about the affray. He was justly wroth, and describes the Council meeting as
'horrible.' For Dr. Booth to say I never complained, is amazing. God knows
all about it, and He will see me righted. I have just received a letter from England
in the words of Jer. xv. 19, 20." That passage was so peculiarly appropriate to the
circumstances of the case, that many friends afterwards sent it to my beloved, who
was greatly comforted by the reassuring message which was thus repeatedly
conveyed to him.
During that visit to Mentone, an incident occurred, to which Mr. Spurgeon
often gratefully referred as a remarkable token of the Lord's approval of his protest
against false doctrine and worldliness. Before I give extracts from his letters
concerning it, a brief explanation is necessary. For many years before this eventful
R 4
2^8 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
period of my dear husband's life, he had been most generously aided in all his
beneficent plans and purposes by a friend to whom God had given abundance of
this world's wealth. These supplies came with loving freeness, and invariable
reoularity ; and more than a mere hint was given that they might be depended
on while the donor had it in his power to be thus royally open-handed However,
Mr. Spurgeon's attitude in the "Down-grade" Controversy alienated the heart
of this friend, and caused him to withdraw altogether the splendid help which had,
for so long a period, exempted my beloved from much financial anxiety.
The letter, announcing this failure of friendship and sympathy, arrived during
Mr. Spurgeon's absence at Mentone, and it therefore became my duty to open and
read it. Then followed one of those hallowed enlargements of heart which leave
their mark for ever on the life of the person experiencing them. At once, I took
the letter, and spread it before the Lord, pleading, as Hezekiah did, that He
would "hear and see" the words written therein; and He gave me so strong a
confidence in His overruling and delivering power that, as I knelt in His presence,
and told Him how completely I trusted Him on my husband's behalf, the words
of petition ceased from my lip?, and I absolutely la2t.ghed aloud, so little did
I fear what man could do, and so blessedly reliant did He make me on His own
love and omnipotence !
In this exultant frame of mind, I wrote to Mentone, making light of the
trouble, and endeavouring to parry the blow which I knew must sorely wound
the sensitive heart of my beloved. I told him, too, how the Lord had "made
me to laugh" as I was laying the matter before Him, and had filled me with
rio-hteous scorn and indignation at the means used to dishearten him in his sublime
stand for the truths of the old gospel. So, as far as I was able, being absent
from him, I comforted and upheld my much-tried spouse. In less time than I
had thought possible, I received this telegram :— " I laugh with you. The Lord
will not fail us, nor forsake us ; " — and, by the next post, there came a letter
recording the dear writer's unswerving faith in the God, whose he was, and whom
■ he served, and to whom he left all the issues of that painful trial. The following
extract will indicate the spirit in which he wrote : —
" Mentone,
" Nov. i8, 1887.
"You are as an angel of God unto me. When I began to read your letter, I
trembled, for I could not tell what was coming ; but wnen I finished it, I could
laugh with you. Bravest of women, strong in faith, you have ministered unto me
indeed and of a truth. God bless thee out of the seventh heavens !
"I do not know that I have ever before really suffered any loss for Christ's
sake; I feel decorated and elevated by this honour. His yoke is easy, and His
c. II. spurgeon's autobiography. 259
burden is light. But our friend uses a queer sort of argument ! I am to be set
right ; — therefore, stop the supplies to God's work ! The fire must be put out ; —
whip the child ! I do not see the connection between the end desired and the means
used. Your loving sympathy has fully repaid me already. I rejoice in the Lord
who has dealt bountifully with me hitherto. All that I possess belongs to Him.
" ' Tliere, take an inventory of all I have,
To the last penny; 'tis the King's.'"
While this correspondence was passing to and fro, the Lord was working on
behalf of His dear servant in a wonderful way. Writing to one of his deacons,.
Mr. Spurgeon said : — " I have had .a very remarkable deliverance out of a pecuniary
difficulty inflicted upon me in consequence of the ' Down-grade' Controversy. It is
as nearly a miracle as anything I ever heard of The living God guards me on
every side, and covers my head. To Him be praise ! "
A lady from the Antipodes, who was staying in London, afterwards related
that, during the time under consideration, she felt an overpowering impression that
she must go to Mr. Spurgeon, in the South of France, and carry him some financial
help to meet a special emergency. She said that, on other occasions, when similar
intimations had come to her, she had obeyed her Lord's commands, and in each
instance had found that she had been infallibly guided by Him, so she at once made
arrangements for the thousand miles' journey. The amount she was to give was not
at first revealed to her, nor did she know exactly where she was to go, as it had been
announced that Mr. Spurgeon would be moving from place to place. However, the
Lord, who had entrusted her with the commission, directed her to Mentone ; and,
on her arrival there, she was further guided to the Hotel Beau Rivage. What
happened there, my beloved thus records :—
"An awe is upon me as I write to you, for I feel the Lord to be so near. On
Tuesday evening, there came to this hotel three ladies who asked if Mr. Spurgeon
were here, and left cards. The next morning, they were at our family worship ; and,
to-day, Mrs. R gave me the enclosed letter, and cheque for ^^ 100 ! I told her
of my trouble afterwards, I had not mentioned it before, and I read to her a few
sentences of your dear letter. 'There,' she said, 'that is the Lord's reason for
moving me to give it to you ; let it go to make up the lack for the next six months.'
I worshipped the Lord with a thrilling joy. She added, ' I do not doubt but that
the Lord will see you right through the difficulty.' I believe so, too, and that all the
help will come from someone who does not know of my special need, so that it will
be the more conspicuously ' of the Lord.' The money will be surer from Him than
from Mr. , although he promised it for life. It may be very childish of me, but
I could not help sending you the very cheque and letter, that you may see with your
26o c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
eyes what the Lord sent me. How this lady came to know my hotel, I cannot
imagine, but Mr. Harrald says that He who sent her knew where I was.
" Our College men have met, with grand result ; the only dissentient being one
who is, practically, out of the ministry. Yesterday, I went to see an afflicted
gentleman,* whose deceased wife was Miss Havergal's sister. His doctor met me,
just now, and told me that I had done his patient great good, I was, however, the
greater gainer, for he read me three letters from his son, a clergyman in Islington, in
which he told his father to be sure to meet me, and wrote very many kind things,
which I am not egotistical enough to repeat ; but he said that all who loved the
Lord, whom he knew, were bearing me up on their hearts. Truly, I am delivered
from all fear of failing in this battle, which is the Lord's, not mine. I feel as if
I must not write about anything else upon these two sheets. ' Holiness unto the
Lord,' is written on them ; and the domestic matters must go on another sheet of
paper. Oh, how I praise the Lord for yoti ! You are dear to me, as a woman and
a wife, beyond all expression ; but now, more fully than ever, we wear the yoke of
Christ together, and mutually bear the double burden of service and suffering for
Him."
Less than a week after the above letter was received, my husband wrote as
follows : — " Prepare for further rejoicing. We had been out driving all day, and
when I came in, I found your dear letter, and saw you sitting ' in Expectation
Corner,' zvith the door open. Please receive the fresh token which the Lord has
sent in the form of a second ,;^ioo! Letter and cheque enclosed. What hath
God wrought ! I never gave Mrs. R a shadow of a hint. I never thought she
would do more. Why should she ? But, as you say, ' the living God does deliver
His children.' How I praise Him ! Or, rather, how I do wish I could praise Him,
but I feel as if my gratitude was cold and superficial when contrasted 'with His
great goodness ! Blessed be His Name for ever!
"What a dear soul you are! How I love you! Our inward and spiritual
union has come out in this trial and deliverance. We will record all this to the
glory of the Lord our God. The weather here is rather of Heaven than of earth ;
warm, clear, bright, and yet life-giving and refreshing. The toothache touches me
every now and then ; but, moderated by interludes of ease, I hardly ought to
mention it, my mercies are so great. What are pains when God is so near ^
This one theme is so predominant in my soul, that I cannot write about anything
else. The Lord liveth, and blessed be my Rock !
* After Mr. Spurgeon's return from Mentone, he wrote to this friend, concerning the Controversy : — " I have had to lean
on the bare arm of God. It is a grand sensation. An arm of flesh loses all charms after we have once leaned on the
greater power. What a Lord we serve ! True indeed is His Word, and it is profitable to be made to prove its truth in storm
and wreck. What folly it seems to try to explain it away! Its keenest edge wounds nothing but that which is false and foul.
I would sooner be slain by the Word of the Lord than live by the lie of the devil."
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography. 261
" Send cheque to Bank. Sing the Doxology. Keep all my love, and rest
under the blessing of the Lord our God."
After the letters to myself, probably those written to the friends at the
Tabernacle expressed most fully what was in the dear Pastor's heart. Shortly
after he reached the South of France, he wrote thus to them : —
" I wish to thank you all most heartily for your constancy of love during four-
and-thirty years of fellowship. We have been many in number, but only one in
heart, all through these years. Specially is this true in the present hour of
controversy, for my heartiest sympathizers are in my own church. Several enthu-
siastic ones proposed a general meeting of church-members, to express their fervent
agreement with their Pastor; but the ever-faithful deacons and elders had taken
time by the forelock, and presented to me a letter signed by them all as repre-
senting their brethren and sisters. Such unity comes from the grace of God,
proves that His blessing is now with us, and prophesies future happiness. What
can I do but thank you all, love you in return, labour for you as long as strength
remains, and pray for you till I die '^ The infinite blessing of the Eternal God be
with you for ever ! "
In reply to the letter from the church-officers, and to a further communication
sent 'by them, the Pastor wrote : — ■
" Mentone,
"Nov. 27, 1887.
. "To the Co-Pastor and the Deacons,
" My Own Dear Brethren,
" I am touched by your loving letter. It is just like you ; but it is so
tenderly, so considerately done, that it has a peculiar sweetness about it. May the
Lord deal with each one of you as you have dealt towards me, even in tender love
and true faithfulness !
" The more you know of this Controversy, the more will your judgments, as
well as your hearts, go with me. It is not possible for me to communicate to
anyone all that has passed under my knowledge ; but I have had abundant reason
for every step I have taken, as the day of days will reveal. All over the \-arious
churches there is the same evil, in all denominations in measure ; and trom believers,
in all quarters, comes the same thankful expression of delight that the schemes .
of errorists have been defeated by pouring light upon them.
" I cannot, at this present, tell you what spite has been used against me, or
you would wonder indeed ; but the love of God first, and your love next, are my
comfort and stay. We may, perhaps, be made to feel some of the brunt of the
battle in our various funds ; but the Lord liveth. My eminent predecessor. Dr.
262 C. H. SPURGEON's AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Gill, was told, by a certain member of his congregation who ought to have known
better, that, if he published his book, The Cause of God and Truth, he would lose
some of his best friends, and that his income would fall ofif. The doctor said, ' I
can afford to be poor, but I cannot aftord to injure my conscience ;' and he has left
his mantle as well as his chair in our vestry.
DR. GILLS CH.AIR.
" I should like to see you all walk in here, and to hear your loving voices in
prayer, tor I feel knit to you all more and more.
" Yours for ever,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Among the letters written by Mr. Spurgeon, at that period, is one that is of
special and permanent importance, first, because it was the reply to a kind com-
munication from Dr. Culross, the President of the Baptist Union ; and, next, because
it sets forth so clearly the reason for Mr. Spurgeon's protest and action : —
" Mentone,
" Nov. 26, 1887.
" My Dear Dr. Culross,
" I think it most kind of you to write me. Your brethren have usually
fired at me through the newspapers their loving appeals and advices. Of this
I do not complain ; but, assuredly, yours is a way which commands an answer.
Letters to the papers are literature, and may or may not be worth one's notice ;
yours is a letter sent to me, and I will at least heartily thank you for it.
" Do I need to say that, with you, and such brethren as Dr. McLaren,
Mr. Aklis, and Dr. Angus, I have no sort of disagreement, except that you stay
in the Union and I am out of it '^. We shall, according to our light, labour for
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography. 263
the same cause. We are all Christians and Baptists, and can find many ways
of co-operation.
" The ' Metropolitan men ' in London request the Union to devise some
way by which I, with others, can return to it. This is very right from their
point of view, but I wish you to understand, as President of the Union, that
the request is not mine. I do not ask you to do what I am sure you cannot
do. If I had thought that you could have done anything which would enable
me to return if I retired, I should have asked you to do it before retirino-.
"So long as an Association without a creed has no aliens in it, nobody can
wish for a creed formally, for the spirit is there ; but at a time when ' strano-e
children ' have entered, what is to be done .'* Whatever may theoretically be in your
power, you practically have no power whatever. You will go on as you are ;
and, unless God's grace calls back the wanderers, their numbers will increase,
and their courage will cause them to speak out more plainl)', to the sorrow of
the faithful ones who shielded them in patient hope of better things.
" I have followed out our Lord's mind as to private remonstrance by seeing-
Presidents and Secretary on former occasions, and I have written my remonstrances
again and again without avail. I had no course but to withdraw. Surel)-, no
sane person thinks that I should have made a tour to deal with the individual
errorists. I have no jurisdiction over them, and should have been regarded as
offensively intrusive if I had gone to them ; and justly so. My question is with
the Union, and with that alone. I have dealt with it all along.
" Your very clear declaration, that the Union could not have a creed, or, as
I read it, could not declare its doctrinal views otherwise than by practising baptism
and the Lord's supper, closes the door finally against me. Neither do I knock
at that door, nor wish for another door to be made. The good men who formed
the Union, I fancy, had no idea that it would become what it now is, or they
would have fashioned it otherwise. It has, by its centralization and absorption of
various Societies, become far other than at the first. This is a good thing, but
it involves a strain on the frail fabric which it is ill adapted to bear. So I think ;
but time will be the best proof of that.
" I wish I could have worked with you in this particular way ; but, as I
cannot, we are not therefore deprived of a thousand other ways of fellowship.
You feel union of heart with men who publicly preach Universal Restitution :
I do not. I mean, you feel enough fellowship to remain in the Union with them :
/ do not. It is the same with other errors. Still, I am in fellowship with yoii,
— Union or no Union. It I think you wrong in your course, — as I surely do, —
I will tell you so in the same spirit as that in which you have written to me.
" From the Council of the Union I cannot look for anything which I should
264 C- H. SPURGEONS AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
care to consider as the voice of the Union. It is too largely committed to a
latitudinarian policy beforehand, and I have no question to refer to it.
" I am happily free from all responsibility for its actions, and all allegiance to
Its sovereignty.
" Very heartily yours,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
I have received, from many friends, copies of my dear husband's letters
written during this trying period ; but I do not think any good purpose can be
served by the publication of more than I have here given. Those who sympathized
with him in his protest need nothing to convince them of the need and the wisdom
of his action ; while those who were opposed to him would probably remain in
the same mind, whatever might be said, so there the matter must rest as far as
I am concerned.
CHAPTER C.
:. 5|jurgt0u as a ItttravD Jlan.
God gave Elijah forty days' meat at one meal : do you, dear friends, ever get such meals as that?
I do when I read certain books ; — not modern-thought books. Give me no such fare as that,— a grain
of meal to a gallon of water ; but let me have one of the good solid Puritan volumes that are so little
prized nowadays, and my soul can feed upon such blessed food as that, and be satisfied with it.—
C. H. S., in sermon preached at the Tabernacle, y-une 24, 1883.
If you can read a tainted book that denies the inspiration of the Scriptures, and attacks the truth
of God, and if you derive any profit from it, you must be a very different being from myself. I have to
read such books, I must read them sometimes to know what is said by the enemies of the gospel, that
I may defend the faith, and help the weaklings of the flock ; but it is a sorry business. When those
who are qualified to do so are reading these heretical works, if they are doing it really in the fear of
God for the good of their fellow-men, they remind me of Sir James Simpson and the two other doctors
when they discovered the medical and surgical value of chloroform. They sat at the table, and
scarcely knew what was going to happen ; but they took a dose each, risking their lives by so doing ;
and when they came back to consciousness, they had certainly made a great discovery. — C. H. S , ht
sermon pnaclied at tlie Taheniacle, October 2'^, 1885.
The world gets more civilized; — so I am told, though, when I read the newspapers, I am not
quite sure that it is so. The world gets more intelligent ; — so I am told, though, when I read the
magazines,--! mean the high-class quarterlies, — I am not certain that it is so, for, in that direction,
the ignorance appears to me to become greater every day, I mean, the ignorance among the learned
and scientific men, who seem to me, in their discoveries, continualljf to wander further and further, not
only from that which is revealed and infallible, but also from that which is rational and truthful. —
C. H. S., in Sermon pleached at the Tabernacle, May 28, 1882.
What a storehouse the Bible is, since a man may continue to preach from it for years, and still find
that there is more to preach from than when he began to discourse upon it! What pyramids of books
have been written upon the Bible, and yet we who are students find no portion over-expounded, but
large parts which are scarcely touched! If you take Darling's CyclopirJia, and look at a text which one
divine has preached upon, you will see that dozens have done the same ; but there are hundreds of
texts which remain like virgin summits, whereon the foot of preacher has never stood. I might
almost say that the major part of the Word of God is in that condition ; it is still an Eldorado
unexplored, a land whose dust is gold.— C. H S., in speech a a Bible Society meeting, 1882.
10 life of Mr. Spurg-eon would be complete unless it contained all
available information concerning the books he read, or wrote, or
owned. All who ha\-e been intimately acquainted with him, from
his childhood, or in later years, have testified to the omnivorous
character of his reading. In the earlier part of the present work
(Vol I., Chapter III.), he has himself recorded the delight with
which, while he was but a little lad, he revelled in the study of such works as
Foxes Book of Martyrs, Bunyan's Pilgriiii s Progress, and the huge folios of
Puritanic theology which he had discovered in the windowless room in the upper
portion of the old Stambourne Manse. The boy and the books were inseparable
266 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
companions ; and when he returned from Stambourne to Colchester, and afterwards
went to his uncle's school at Maidstone, the same experience was repeated. Even
as a youth, he intermeddled with all knowledge, and so began to accumulate those
treasures of literary lore which have led many to describe his wisdom as ency-
clopaedic. His essay, entitled Popery Unmasked, written when he was only
fifteen years of age, affords abundant proof of the wide extent of his reading at
that early period of his history ; and he often mentioned, with much merriment,
the curious arrangement that .had to be made in connection with the school-boy
debates in which he took part. He kn.ew so much more than the rest of the
pupils upon almost all the subjects which they wished to discuss, that he was
too formidable an antagonist for any of them to overthrow ; and, consequently,
the only way in which he could fairly compete with his young companions was
to allow him to speak on both sides of the question under consideration ! It
must have both amused and amazed his fellow-scholars to hear him refute his
own arguments, which, when he had first uttered them, they had thought to
be unanswerable !
When he advanced from the position of scholar to that of teacher, he gladly
availed himself of the increased opportunities of reading and learning everything
that might be turned to good account in his future career ; and when he had
become a follower of Christ, and an earnest worker for his Lord, he spent all
that he could honestly afford in the purchase of the classical and theological books
which were likely to be of the greatest service to him. His letters at that
period, as given in the first volume of this work, contained frequent mention
of those volumes ; and his tutor and friend, Mr. Leeding, confirmed his own
testimony as to the diligence with which he was mastering their contents. One
of his favourite subjects of study, at that time, was natural history ; and some
of his pupils have acknowledged, even since his home-going, how intensely
interesting and instructive were the lessons and lectures he gave them upon that
topic ; and all the while he was, perhaps unconsciously, laying up useful and
telling illustrations which were to be of service to himself and his hearers
throughout his long ministry.
Mr. Spurgeon did not often refer to his own literary acquirements, as he
preferred to let the work he had accomplished speak for him ; and he could
afford to ignore the unfounded assumptions of his critics with regard to his
supposed ignorance. Very occasionally, possibly when there had been some
unusually virulent attack upon him which he thought should not pass unnoticed,
he would briefly mention the matter to some of the choice friends by whom he
was surrounded, and prove the utter .groundlessness of his assailants' statements.
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography. 267
At the close of one of the annual College Conferences, there occurred an incident
of this kind, which is, to this day, remembered with delight by many who wer.e
present. One ot the brethren who was there has recorded his reminiscences of the
occasion ; he writes : — " It was after the dinner on the Friday, when we had
been cheerino- the beloved President with such cheers as we shall never give to
any man again ; I think they must have touched his loving heart, for he left
his place at the table, stepped forward among the flowers that decorated the
platform, and talked to us in a homely, confidential way. I cannot recall his
exact words, but I know that he told us how welcome we were to all the
privileges ot the Conference, and I remember that he had a special message of
sympathy for those ot us who came from the smaller churches. Then he went
on to speak of himself. He related how, even as a school-boy, he had made
such progress with his mathematical studies that he had been able to calculate
the tables which he believed were still used in a certain Life Insurance office
in London. I distinctly recollect that he also said he could easil\' have taken a
degree at Cambridge if the University had been open to Nonconformists, ^ and
he referred to the knowledge of Greek and Latin which he possessed at that
time, adding, in his own inimitable way, that, since then, he had also learned at
least some Hebrew, and a fczu other things ! He urged the brethren to be
diligent students, to read all books that would help them to understand the
Scriptures ; but, above all, to study the Word itself, in the original languages
if possible, and to saturate themselves with what he termed Bibline, the very
essence of The Book. I always knew that dear Mr. Spurgeon was a great scholar
as well as a great preacher, but it was delightful to have the fact confirmed
from his own lips ; yet he concluded by saying, 'Still, brethren, like the aposde
Paul, I am become a fool in glorying.' But our renewed cheers must have
assured him of our delight in listening to what he had told us, and he said that
he had been driven to speak by what others had been saying, and tor the
honour ot the College of which he was President. The address was evidently
quite unpremeditated ; it seemed to be the overflowing ot his heart to those who,
he knew, were not only in perfect sympathy with him, but regarded him with
the deepest reverence, esteem, and love."
Although Mr. Spurgeon so seldom referred to his own attainments and qualifi-
cations for his great life-work, yet frequently, in depicting some ot the Lord's most
useful and successful servants, he drew likenesses of them which might admirably
serve for full-length portraits of himself. F"or instance, preaching upon John the
Baptist's words, " He must increase, but I must decrease," the Pastor said : — " Oh,
how grandly he witnessed tor Christ by sinking himself until he was lost in his Lord
268 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
and Master ! And, my brother, it must be the same with you ; if you would be a
true witness for Christ, you must say that which glorifies Him, even though it
dishonours yourself Perhaps there is a very learned man sitting over yonder, and
the temptation to the preacher is to say something that shall make him feel that the
minister to whom he is listening is not so ignorant as some people suppose ; but
if there is an unlearned, simple sinner anywhere in the place, the preacher's business
is just to chop his words down to that poor man's condition, and let the learned
hearer receive the same message if he will. Luther said, ' When I am preaching, I
see Dr. Jonas sitting there, and QEcolampadius, and Melancthon, and I say to
myself, "Those learned doctors know enough already; so I need not trouble about
them. I shall fire at the poor people in the aisles."' That is the way Luther
preached, and God richly blessed his ministry because he did it. Though he was a
truly learned man, he was willing to be reckoned as knowing nothing at all if by
that means he could the better serve his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ."
On another occasion, in a sermon at the Tabernacle, his reference to John
Bunyan was equally applicable to his own writings and words : — " Oh, that you and
I might get into the very heart of the Word of God, and get that Word into our-
selves ! As I have seen the silkworm eat into the leaf, and consume It, so ought
we to do with the Word of the Lord ; — not crawl over its surface, but eat right
into it till we have taken it into our inmost parts. It is idle merely to let the eye
glance over the words, or to recollect the poetical expressions, or the historic facts ;
but it is blessed to eat into the very soul of the Bible until, at last, you come to talk
. in Scriptural language, and your very style is fashioned upon Scripture models, and,
what is better still, your spirit is flavoured with the words of the Lord. I would
quote John Bunyan as an instance of what I mean. Read anything of his, and
■you will see that it is almost like reading the Bible itself He had studied our
Authorized Version, which will never be bettered, as I judge, till Christ shall come ;
he had read it till his whole being was saturated with Scripture ; and, though his
writings are charmingly full of poetry, yet he cannot give us his Pilgrims Progress —
that sweetest of all prose poems, — without continually making us feel and say, ' Why,
this man is a living Bible ! ' Prick him anywhere ; and you will find that his blood
is Bibline, the very essence of the Bible flows from him. He cannot speak without
quoting a text, for his soul is full of the W^ord of God."
In the compilation of the illustrative extracts for The Treasury of David, it was
from lack of time rather than from personal Inability that Mr. Spurgeon was glad to
avail himself of the assistance of a few friends, whose help he gratefully acknow-
ledged in the Prefaces to the various volumes as they were issued. One of these
references will serve as a specimen of the whole, and at the same time it will
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography. 269
indicate to careful readers the heavy labour which had been undertaken, and the
conscientiousness with which it was being performed. In the Introduction to
Vol. III., Mr. Spurgeon wrote; — "'Art. is long, and life is short,' hence I found
myself unequal to the unaided accomplishment of my task, and I have had to call in
the aid of my excellent friend, Mr. Gracey, the accomplished classical tutor of the
Pastors' College, to assist me in the w^ork of winnowing the enormous heaps of Latin
comments. Huge folios, full of dreary word-spinning, yield here and there some
little material for thought ; and this, I trust, will be valuable enough to my readers
to repay my coadjutor and myself for our pains. For the selection of extracts, I
alone am responsible ; for the accuracy of the translations, we are jointly account-
able. The reader will note that, not without much expense of money, as well as
toil, he has here furnished to his hand the pith of V^enema, Le Blanc, Lorinus,
Gerhohus, Musculus, Martin Geier, Mollerus, and Simon de Muis ; with occasional
notes from Vitringa, Jansenius, Savonarola, Vatablus, Turrecremata, Marloratus,
Palanterius, Theodoret, and others, as they were judged worthy of insertion. I can
truly say that I have never tlinched from a difficult)', or spared exertion, in order to
make the work as complete as it lay in my power to render it, either by my own
endeavours or the help of others."
Perhaps, among all Mr. Spurgeon's published works, the one that gives the
best idea of his familiarity with the whole range of expository literature, is his
unpretentious half-crown volume. Issued under the unattractive title. Commenting
and Coninientaries. The book has long since been accepted as a most reliable
standard of appeal, and its commendations and valuations are frequently quoted
in catalogues of theological works. The purpose of the volume, and the labour
necessary for its completion, are thus described by its author : —
" Divines who have studied the Scriptures have left us great stores of holy
thought which we do well to use. Their expositions can never be a substitute
for our own meditations ; but, as water poured down a dry pump often starts it
working to bring up water of its own, so suggestive reading sets the mind in
motion on its own account. Here, however, is the difficulty. Students do not
find it easy to choose which works to buy, and their slender stores are often wasted
on books of a comparatively worthless kind. If I can save a poor man from
spending his money for that which is not bread, or, by directing a brother to a
good book, may enable him to dig deeper into the mines of truth, I shall be well
repaid. For this purpose I have tolled, and read much, and passed under review
some three or four thousand volumes. From these I have compiled my catalogue,
rejecting many, yet making a very varied selection. Though I have carefully used
such judgment as I possess, I have doubtless made many errors ; I shall certainly
2/0 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
find very few who will agree with all my criticisms, and some persons may be angry
at my remarks. I have, however, done my best, and, with as much impartiality as
I can command, I have nothing extenuated nor set down aught in malice. He who
finds fault will do well to execute the work in better style ; only let him remember
that he will have my heifer to plough with, and therefore ought in all reason to
excel me. I have used a degree of pleasantry in my remarks on the Commentaries,
for a catalogue is a dry affair, and, as much for my own sake as for that of my
readers, I have indulged the mirthful vein here and there. For this, I hope I shall
escape censure, even if I do not win commendation. Few can conceive the amount
of toil which this compilation has involved, both to myself and my industrious
amanuensis, Mr. J. L. Keys. In almost every case, the books have been actually
examined by myself, and my opinion, whatever it may be worth, is an original one.
A complete list of all comments has not been attempted. Numbers of volumes
have been left out because they were not easily obtainable, or were judged to be
worthless, although some of both these classes have been admitted as specimens, or
as warnings. Latin authors are not Inserted, because few can procure them, and
fewer still can read them with ease. We are not, however, ignorant of their value.
The writers on the Prophetical Books have completely mastered us ; and, after
almost completing a full list, we could not in our conscience believe that a tithe of
them would yield to the student anything but bewilderment, and therefore we
reduced the number to small dimensions. We reverence the teaching- of the
prophets, and the Apocalypse ; but for many of the professed expounders of those
inspired Books, we entertain another feeling."
Some of the readers of Mr. Spurgeon's sermons and other works, noticing how
seldom he inserted classical quotations, or referred to the languages in which the
Scriptures were written, may have imagined that he was not acquainted with those
treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The real reason for the omission can be
gathered from his warning words to his students in his lecture on " Commenting" : —
''Avoid all pedantry. A pedant, who is continually quoting Ambrose and Jerome,
Piscator and CEcolampadius, in order to show what a copious reader he has been, is
usually a dealer in small wares, and quotes only what others have quoted before
him ; but he who can give you the result and outcome of very extensive reading,
without sounding a trumpet before him, is the really learned man. As a general
rule, it may be observed that those gentlemen who know the least Greek are the
most sure to air their rags of learning in the pulpit , they miss no chance of saying,
'The Greek Is so-and-so.' It makes a man an Inch and a-half taller, by a foolometer,
if he constantly lets fall bits of Greek and Hebrew, and even tells the people the
tense of the verb and the case of the noun, as I have known some do. Those who
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRArHY. 2/1
have no learning usually make a point of displaying the pegs on which learning
ought to hang. Brethren, the whole process of interpretation is to be carried on in
your study ; you are not to show your congregation the process, but to give them
the result ; like a good cook, who would never think of bringing up dishes, and pans,
and rolling-pin, and spice-box into the dining-room, but without ostentation sends
up the feast."
In the volume of lectures to students, on The Art of ///iistration, the President
incidentally indicated his wide acquaintance with all kinds of literature from which
anecdotes, illustrations, emblems, metaphors, and similes might be culled. The
following extract shows how Mr. Spurgeon turned an illustration used by Henry
Ward Beecher to quite a different purpose from the one intended by the eminent
American preacher : —
"When a critical adversary attacks our metaphors, he generally makes short
work of them. To friendly minds, images are arguments ; but to opponents, they
are opportunities for attack ; the enemy climbs up by the window. Comparisons
are swords with two edges, which cut both ways ; and, frequently, what seems
a sharp and telling illustration may be wittily turned against you, so as to cause
a laugh at your expense ; therefore, do not rely upon your metaphors and parables.
Even a second-rate man may defend himself from a superior mind if he can
dexterously turn his assailant's gun upon himself Here is an instance which
concerns myself, and I give it for that reason, since these lectures have all along
been autobiographical. It is a cutting from one of our religious papers : — ' Mr.
Beecher has been neatly tripped up in The Sword and the Trowel. In his
Lectures on Preaching, he asserts that Mr. Spurgeon has succeeded " in spite
of his Calvinism;" adciing the remark that "the camel does not travel any
better, nor is it any more useful, because of the hump on its back." The
illustration is not a felicitous one, for Mr. Spurgeon thus retorts : — " Naturalists
assure us that the camel's hump is of great importance in the eyes of the Arabs,
who judge of the condition of their beasts by the size, shape, and firmness of
their humps. The camel feeds upon his hump when he traverses the wilderness,
so that in proportion as the animal travels over the sandy wastes, and suffers
from privation and fatigue, the mass diminishes ; and he is not fit for a long-
journey till the hump has regained its usual proportions. Calvinism, then, is
the spiritual meat which enables a man to labour on in the ways of Christian
service ; and, though ridiculed as a hump by those who are only lookers-on,
those who traverse the weary paths of a wilderness experience know too well
its value to be willing to part with it, even if a Beecher's splendid talents could
be sfiven in exchang-e."' "
1']'.
C. H. SPURGEON'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
The twenty-eight volumes of The Szvord and the Trotvel, from 1865 to 1892,
contain notices of many thousands of books that the beloved Editor either read
throuoh, or examined sufficiently to be able to write reviews of them. He also
read many that he did not review, for he was well aware that an unfavourable
notice in his magazine would help to advertize erroneous teaching, and he thought
the wiser course was to ignore such works altogether. His usual method of
dealing with a thoroughly bad book, — either morally or doctrinally, — was to tear
it into litde pieces too small to do harm to anyone, or to commit it bodily to
the flames. This was the sentence executed upon many volumes that cast doubt
upon the Divinity of our Lord, the efficacy of His atoning sacrifice, or the
inspiration of the Scriptures, though some works of that kind were allowed to
remain as evidences of the character of the writings of some of the religious
leaders of the day. In one notable instance, a volume by a very prominent Baptist
minister — with whom Mr. Spurgeon was personally friendly, but from whom he
was widely separated theologically,— was adversely criticised with considerable
severity. Before publishing the notice, the Editor sent a proof of it to the
author of the book, and then, at his urgent request, omitted it from the magazine.
On the other hand, publishers and writers have frequently testified that a com-
mendation in The Szvord and the Troivel has been the means of selling a whole
edition, or of materially helping to ensure the success of their works, while all
who are well acquainted with the magazine are fully aware of the unique character
of the Editor's " Notices of Books."
Even on his holiday trips to Mentone, Mr. Spurgeon was always well supplied
with material for reading, for not only did he take large quantities of books with him,
but many others were sent out to him during the time of his enforced absence
from home. He generally took care, in making his selection for this purpose,
to include some biographies, and one or two of his favourite Puritans, such as
Manton or Brooks.
On one occasion, there seemed to be some little likelihood of his literary
luggage being confiscated by the French officials. It may be that they were
specially suspicious, at that time, because the ex-Empress Eugenie had crossed
the Channel by the same steamer, and they could not tell how much Imperialistic
literature was being smuggled into the Republic. Although they could find
nothing of a contraband nature, they carefully examined several volumes of the
dear Pastor's own works which were intended as presents for friends, and others
which had been sent to him for review ; but, finding nothing to which they
could object, they at last appended the mystic mark which gave free admission
to all that the huge portmanteau contained.
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 273
Mr. Spurgeon was a very quick reader, but the rapidity of his glance at the
page did not interfere with the completeness of his acquaintance with its contents.
He could read from cover to cover of a large octavo or folio volume in the course of
a very short space of time, and he would thus become perfectly familiar with all that
it contained. Dr. William Wright, the late Editorial Superintendent of the British
and Foreign Bible Society, gave a remarkable instance of this combination of speed
and accuracy, as well as a notable testimony to Mr. Spurgeon's literary ability, in
the reminiscences which he wrote for The British Weekly in February, 1892. In
the course of a lengthy article, Dr. Wright said : — " Mr. Spurgeon visited Belfast in
1858. I was then preparing to enter College, with a hankering after the Indian
Civil Service. Mr. Spurgeon preached in Dr. Cooke's church. He singled me
out, — as I thought, — and spoke to me as if no one else was present. There was no
thrumming of theology, and no pious posing ; but a clear, direct, hot, living, personal
appeal that dare not be resisted. . . . Fifteen years later, I went to the Taber-
nacle, on my way home from Damascus. The same straightforward Englishman
was preaching the same straightforward gospel in all its fulness, and without any
apology for its severity. After the service, I walked into the vestry without being
announced. He had not seen me for ten years, but he recognized me in the crowd
without a moment's hesitation. He ran over a list of the books on Syria and
Palestine, stating the merits of each, and ended by saying, ' I suppose Thomson's
The Land and the Book is still the best on the manners and customs.' He had the
whole literature of the Holy Land at his finger-ends.
" When I came to be Mr. Spurgeon's near neighbour, I found that his
knowledge of all literature was wonderful. His power of reading was perhaps
never equalled. He would sit down to five or six large books, and master them at
one sitting. He sat with his left hand flat on the page at the left side of the book,
and pushing his right hand up the page on the right side until the page projected a
little, he turned it over with his finger, and proceeded to the next page. He took
in the contents almost at a glance, reading by sentences as others read by words,
and his memory never failed him as to what he read. He made a point of reading-
half-a-dozen of the hardest books every week, as he wished to rub his mind up
against the strongest minds ; and there was no skipping. I several times had an
opportunity of testing the thoroughness of his reading, and I never found him
at fault.
" Drummond's Natnral Laiu in the Spiritual JVorld reached him and me about
the same time. I called on Mr. Spurgeon when he was fresh from a perusal of the
book. It was then unknown to fame, and he had read it with five or six other
books. At tea, we were speaking of the freshness of the illustrations, and the
peculiarity of the doctrines taught, when a third party challenged Mr. Spurgeon's
S4
274 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
recollection of certain points. Mr. Spuro-eon thereupon quoted a whole page to
show that Drummoncl spoke of the natural and spiritual laws being identical, and
another important page to show how the book erred by defect. On my return home,
I looked over the passages quoted, and I believe he scarcely missed a word in the
repetition. His power of swift and effective reading was one of the greatest of his
many talents. . . .
'• I was at first surprised to find Mr. Spurgeon consulting both the Hebrew and
Greek texts. ' They say,' said he, ' that I am ignorant and unlearned. Well, let
them say it ; and in everything, by my ignorance, and by my knowledge, let God
be glorified.'
" His exegesis was seldom wrong. He spared no pains to be sure of the exact
meaning of his text. On one occasion, he was going to preach on the subject of
the olive tree; and he sent his secretary to the keeper of the Natural History
Department of the British Museum, with a series of questions regarding the
peculiarities of the tree. Mr. Carruthers, the keeper, was so much interested in
the enquiry that he wrote out several pages for Mr. Spurgeon ; but when the
sermon came to be preached, the information had been passed through the crucible
of Mr. Spurgeon's mind, and came forth in a few Bunyanesque sentences. . . .
Sometimes, when I left him on Saturday evening, he did not know either of his
texts for Sunday. But he had a well-stored mind ; and when he saw his lines of
thought, a few catchwords on a half-sheet of notepaper sufficed. Before we parted,
he used to offer up a short prayer which was an inspiration to both of us.
" Mr. Spurgeon had a marvellous combination of gifts which contributed to his
greatness. A voice that you heard with pleasure, and could not help hearing. A
mind that absorbed all knowledge — whether from books or nature — that came
within its range. An eye that took in a wide angle, and saw everything within
view. A memory that he treated with confidence, and that never disappointed him.
A great heart, on fire with the love of God and the love of souls. And then he
showed a practical comnion sense in doing things, both sacred and secular, and a
singleness of aim, joined with transparent honesty, that ensured the confidence of all
who knew him. You could not help loving him if you came within his spell."
On two occasions. Dr. J. Stanford Holme wrote, specially for Transatlantic
readers, articles upon Mr. Spurgeon's printed sermons and other works, in which he
endeavoured to trace some of the sources of the preacher's literary and spiritual
power. The first critique was published in the American edition of The Christian
Herald, in January, 1879. In that paper. Dr. Stanford Holme wrote: —
" It is a fact worthy of especial notice that the sermons of Mr. Spurgeon have
had a circulation in this country entirely without precedent. Of the American
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography. 275
edition of his sermons, there have been sold not less than 500,000 volumes. And
when, to this vast number, we add the almost innumerable republications of single
sermons in the transient periodicals of the day, it is safe to say that no other
preacher has had so extensive a hearing- in America as Charles H. Spurgeon.
" Many of the causes of the wonderful popularity of this distinguished preacher
are not difficult to discover. In freshness and vigour of thought, in simplicity and
purity of language, in grasp of gospel truth, and in tact and force in its presentation,
he is perhaps without a peer in the pulpit.
"When, in early life, Mr. Spurgeon commenced his ministrations in the New
Park Street Chapel, in London, he quickly filled the old house to overflowing.
Soon, he attracted the attention of all England. But he was regarded by many as
a brilliant meteor that would soon fade away. Yet Mr. Spurgeon is, to-day, a vastly
more efificient and even a more brilliant preacher than he was twenty years ago.
He continues to grow in brilliancy as well as in efficiency year by year. No one
can yet point to the slightest indication of exhaustion in either his faculties or his
resources.
"This, doubtless, is attributable, in a measure, to his industry and well-directed
application, as well as to natural ability and great personal piety. But Mr.
Spurgeon's peculiar views of the Word of God, and his manner of preparation for
the pulpit, also tend in no small degree to secure the hiexhajistible variety which so
strikingly characterizes his sermons. It is not his manner to spin his web out of
himself. The resources from which he draws are not measured by the strength and
the store of his own faculties, but rather by the infinite fulness of the Divine Word.
He never preaches from a topic. He always has a text. His text is not a mere
motto, but iu it he finds his sermon. He uses his text with as much apparent reverence
and appreciation as if those few words were the only words that God had ever
spoken. The text is the germ which furnishes the life, the spirit, and the substance
of the discourse. Every sermon has the peculiar flavour, and fragrance, and colour
of the Divine seed-truth of which it is the growth. Thus, as the Bible is a store-
house of seed-truths, inexhaustible and of infinite variety, so Mr. Spurgeon's sermons
are never alike. Every seed yields its fruit after its kind. If he brings you up
again and again to the same old truths, it is always on a different side, or in a new
lieht, or with new surroundings.
"A very strong confirmation of this view has been afforded to the author in the
preparation, of an edition of Mr. Spurgeon's works. In making up the index of
subjects, it was necessary to go carefully through the entire fourteen volumes, page
by page, and to note the different topics discussed, and then to arrange them in
alphabetical order. When this work was finished, such was the wonderful variety
of subject, of thought, and of illustration, that, in many thousands of references, no
276 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
two subjects, or thoughts, or illustrations, were found exactly to correspond. The
preacher is discussing essentially the same familiar truths over and over again. He
is presenting the same great Saviour to lost sinners, with what might seem slavish
fidelity to the spirit and even to the letter of the written Word. And yet his setting
forth of truth, his shades of thought, and his modes of illustration, always arrange
themselves in new forms and colours with well-nigh the endless variety of the
combinations and tints of the clouds at the setting of the sun.
"It is not surprising, therefore, that sermons so varied, fresh, and Evangelical,
should have so large "a circulation in this country, nor that a newspaper, one of
the special attractions of which is the weekly sermon of Mr. Spurgeon, should
have the reception which is already accorded to The Christian Herald."
Dr. Stanford Holme's second article was published in The New York
Honiiletic Monthly, February, 1S82. An extract from it will show in what esteem
Mr. Spurgeon's luagnuni opus was held by the writer : —
" It is with no little satisfaction that I have seen the announcement of an
American edition of Mr. Spurgeon's Treasury of David. It is not only a most
valuable Commentary on the Psalms for general use, but I regard it as the
most important homiletic work of the age.
" Mr. Spurgeon is a good Hebrew scholar. He is a man of deep practical
piety. He has a fine poetic taste, a wonderful insight into the depths of the
human heart, and a quaintness of expression, and a vigour and vivacity of style,
that have the effect of genuine wit in giving point and life to his expressions.
" These, it will be acknowledged, form a rare combination of qualifications
for an expositor of the Book of Psalms. But, to these, Mr. Spurgeon adds two
other especial qualifications for the work, still more rare and valuable. His
appreciation of and reverence for the inspired Word are among the most
characteristic and rerharkable features of the man. The Word of God is to
him a thing of life and power, ' and sharper than any two-edged sword.' He
sees God in the very words of the Bible. Like the bush on Horeb, a chapter,
or a single verse, at times, glows with celestial splendour, and, to use his own
words, ' Hundreds of times have I as surely felt the presence of God, in the
page of Scripture, as ever Elijah did when he heard the Lord speaking in a
still small voice.' He seems never to be satisfied, in his study of the Scriptures,
till every single verse is thus verified by the Spirit, and becomes to him a living
word.
"Another special qualification ot Mr. Spurgeon for this work, not less
important and extraordinary, is a desire that knows no bounds — a passion — to
help others preach that gospel of which he himself would seem to be the
C. H. SPURGEON's AUTOBIOGRAniY. 277
greatest living herald. When Sir Joshua Reynolds, who was regarded as the
greatest painter of his time, scraped off the paint from some of the works of
Titian and Da Vinci, in order that he might find out the secret of their wonderful
skill in the mixing and blending of colours, he refused to make known his
discoveries to his pupils. As far as he could, he threw down the ladder by
which he had himself attained to greatness. Mr. Spurgeon is a man of another
spirit. Himself one of the greatest of living preachers, and excelled by few of
former ages, he does all he can to reveal the secrets of his power to the world,
and, if possible, to make others greater than himself ; and that which, in our
estimation, makes The Treasury of David of such value to a minister is, that its
spirit and peculiar construction introduce us, as witnesses, into Mr. Spurgeon's
workshop, and enable us to see more clearly his method and manner of
preparation for the pulpit than we can in his printed discourses, or even in
his lectures to his students. Here we may examine sermons in all stages of
development, — here we may learn how sermons grow. Indeed, a careful study
of The Treasury of David reveals the whole secret of the strength of this Samson
of the pulpit. The work might with propriety be called The Treasttry of David,
and the Arcamun of SptirgeonT
Many other tributes to Mr. Spurgeon's literary ability and achievements have
been borne, both during his lifetime and since his home-going. One of the most
representative and comprehensive of these testimonies was given by Dr. James
Stalker at the unveiling of the C. H. Spurgeon Memorial, at the Stockwell
Orphanage, on June 20, 1894. After speaking of the loving esteem in which, in
common with the great bulk of his fellow-countrymen, he held Mr. Spurgeon,
Dr. Stalker said : —
" Perhaps you will allow me to say a word or two about his power as a writer, —
his power to express himself in writing. In this democratic age, when sympathy
with the masses is on everyone's lips, it often seems to me wonderful that the power
of communicating with the multitude is so rare. We have scores of ministers who
are ambitious of writing for the world of the cultivated ; but a book frankly and
successfully addressing the average man, in language which he can understand, is
one of the rarest products of the press. It really requires very exceptional power.
It requires knowledge of human nature, and knowledge of life. It requires
common sense ; it requires wit and humour ; and it requires command of simple and
powerful Saxon.
"Whatever the requirements may be, Mr. Spurgeon had them in an
unexampled degree. To find his match in this respect, you have, I think, in
England, to go back to John Bunyan. Luther is the unapproachable master in this
278 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
department, and I am not surprised to see so many pictures of Luther, on the walls
to-day, collected by Mr. Spurgeon, because there is the closest resemblance between
the two men. It is wonderful, in Luther's life, to find how he cultivated this power.
When he was at the height of his fame, we find him writing to Nuremberg, that he
might have sent to him all the chap-books, songs, and children's stories that could
be found, that he might exercise himself in simplicity of expression."^' He said
himself that he watched the peasant in the field, the mother in the home, and the
boys on the street, that he might learn to speak and to write. He translated ^sop's
Fables, and made a large collection of popular proverbs with his own hands. This
reminds us of Mr. Spurgeon, who did the same thing on a still larger scale in his
excellent books called The Salt-cellars. And I am not surprised that Mr. Thomas
Spurgeon referred to John Ploughmaiis Talk, because, in my opinion, that is a
collection of wit and wisdom that is certain of immortality among the popular
classics of England. But it was into the sermons that, year after year, he poured
without stint all the resources of his genius, and these fitted the mind and the heart
of the multitude of the Anglo-Saxon race as no writings of our day have even
approached doing.
" But I should like to be allowed to say that, while he thus addressed himself so
frankly to the common men, he had far more learning than was generally understood.
I do not know whether he often refused the degree which you. Dr. Spurgeon, so
much adorn. I suppose he did ; but I am sure of this,— that he earned the degree
of a doctor of divinity over and over again. For many years, it has been my wont,
week after week, every season, to read over his Commentary on the Psalms along
with the best and most learned Commentaries in existence on this subject. That is
the best test, and the severest test, to which a minister can put the writings of any
author, and Mr. Spurgeon stands the test well. Not only do you everywhere feel
the presence of a vigorous and vigilant mind, and a heart in thorough sympathy with
the spirit of the Psalms, but I wish to say that I have often been perfectly astonished
to observe how, without any parade of learning, he shows himself to be thoroughly
acquainted with the results of the most advanced scholarship ; and the truth is, that
there is scarcely a point in the Psalms of real importance, — scarcely a point upon
which scholarship can give us anything of real importance, — as to which there are
not sufficient hints to the intelligent reader in Mr. Spurgeon's work."
To give anything like an approximate idea of the extent of Mr. Spurgeon's
reading during his thirty-eight years' ministry in London, it would be necessary to
make a list of nearly all the principal theological and biographical works published
* It is worthy of note that Mr. Spurgeon adopted a very similar method of perfecting his acquaintance with the language
and literature of the peasants of England.
C. H. SPURGEON's AUTOBIOGRArilV.
279
2So c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
during that period, and to add to it a large portion of the other standard literature
of the present and previous centuries, and almost the whole of the volumes issued
by the great divines of the Puritan period. The number and value of Mr.
Spurgeon's own copies of the writings of those masters of theology are probably
unique for a private library, and he was always on the look-out for any that he
did not possess, so that he might make his collection as complete as possible.
Booksellers' catalogues, in which they were mentioned, were always examined
quickly ; and an order for the missing volumes that might be on sale was at once
sent, or, more probably, a messenger was despatched to make sure of getting them.
This promptness on the Pastor's part enabled him often to secure treasures which
other collectors would have been glad to obtain. In some instances, they en-
deavoured to persuade him to relinquish his bargain in their favour ; one gentleman
induced Dr. McLaren to write this letter, on his behalf, to Mr. Spurgeon : —
" Manchester,
a ^ ^ 'Q _
" My Dear Friend,
"A friend of mine is very wishful to get a book, which you unwittingly
took out of his mouth from some catalogue. I enclose copy of title. The reason
for his special desire to get it is that he is descended from the Fleetwoods to whom,
it is dedicated, and that, somehow or other, it proves some point of family history in
which he and his people are much interested. If you would allow him to purchase
it of you at its value, whatever that may be, he would be very much obliged, and
would undertake that, if ever he heard of another copy, you should have it with
many thanks. Seeing his anxiety to have the book, I offered to ask you if you
would part with it.
" I hope you are able for your work, and are walking in the light. It is sorely
shadowed for me, and it is hard to sing or even to say in a darkened cage.
" I am,
" My dear friend,
" Yours faithfully,
"Alexr. McLaren."
The following is the title of the volume, which was dedicated to Sir William
Tleetwood, Sir George Fleetwood, and " Lord Fleetwood, Lieutenant General of
the whole army in England and Scotland " when Oliver Cromwell was Lord
Protector : —
Old Jacob's Altar ncivly repaired; or, the Saint's Triangle of Dangers, De-
liverances, and Duties, personal, and Ahitional, practically improved in many
Particiilars, seasonable and experimental. Being the Ansioer of his own Heart to
God, for eminent Preservations ; humbly recommended, by ivay of Teaching, 7inta
c. H. spurgeon's autoriography. 281
all ; and, as a special Renieinbrancev to the Ransomed of the Lord, to azvakcn in
them a sense of rich mercy ; that they may sing the song of Moses for temporal,
and the song of the Lamb, for spiritual Deliverances ; and, to provoke them to Love,
and good works ; By Nataneel Whiting, Mr of Arts, and Minister of the Gospel,
at Aldwinckle. London : Printed by R. T. for A^athaneel Ekins, and are to be
sold at his Shop, at the Signe of the Gunne, in S. Pauls Church-yard, i6^g.
Mr. Spurg'eon explained to Dr. McLaren his reasons for wishing to retain
the volume, and received, in reply, a post card bearing this message confirming
his own decision : — " I would not part with it either, if I were in your place. —
A. McLaren."
The next year, Mr. Spurgeon and Dr. Angus saw, in a catalogue, the particulars
concerning a second-hand volume which each of them desired to possess. An
exact copy of the entry will show the kind of book for which the Pastor was
always on the look-out : —
" 1040— Turner (J.) Choice Experiences of the kind dealings of God before, in, and after Conversions, laid
down in Six General Heads, together with some brief Observations upon the same, etc., 1653.— Allen
(W., General in Ireland) Captive taken from the strong ; or a true relation of the gratious release of
Deborah Huish from the Power of the Tempter, etc., 1658.— The Just Man's Defence, or the Roj-al
Conquest ; being the declaration of the judgment of James Arminius of I.eyden, concerning the principall
points of Religion before the States of Holland and Westfriezland, translated by Tobias Conyers,
of Peter House, Cambriage, 1657. — Faith and Practice of Thirty Congregations, gathered according to the
Primitive Pattern, etc., 1651 — etc., in i thick vol, sm. 8vo, old binding, i6s."
Mr. Spurgeon secured the volume ; and Dr. Angus, on finding this out,
wrote to him as follows : —
" College, Regent's Park,
" March 22, 18S6,
" My Dear Friend,
" You and I are often of a mind : and very pleasant it is. But now
■and then it works inconvenience. You ordered, on Saturday, a book in Bull and
Auvache's list, which I ordered on Saturday, too ; but I was behind you ; —
Turner's Choice Experiences, etc. Do you want them all? I especially want
(i) Faith and Practice of Thirty Congregations ; and (2) Turner, for the sake
of what I expect is there, — Spilsberie's recommendations.
" If you do not want both these, I will take one or both ; and will leave
you 'The Captive' and 'The Judgment of Arminius,' which last ought to have
some value, though not quite sound, I suspect. I will take what you can spare,
and give you what you ask for them. If you wish to keep them all, I will not
grumble, as it is all 'in the family. ' Witli all best wishes,
"Yours very truly,
"J. Angus."
282 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
In this instance, it appears that Mr. Spurgeon gave up his purchase, as
Dr. Angus was so anxious to obtain some of the treatises bound up in the one
volume, and it seemed a pity to separate them.
Mr. Spurgeon not only possessed a large number of volumes by Puritan writers,
but he was fully conversant with their contents ; and, from the earliest days of the
Pastors' College, he sought to interest his students in them. He also helped them to
purchase considerable quantities of the new editions issued by Mr. Nichol, Messrs.
Nisbet and Co., and other publishers. In later years, the President prepared a
series of lectures on several of the principal Puritan divines, and delivered them at
the College, accompanying the sketches of their lives with extracts from their works,
thus enabling the brethren to become acquainted with his opinions of their com-
parative merits, and of the characteristics of their style. The lectures have not yet
been published ; but just a hint as to the labour involved in compiling them, and
some idea of the way in which the writers were compared and contrasted, may be
gathered from the Preface to one of Mr. Spurgeon's smaller volumes. Illustrations
and Meditations ; or, Flowers from a Puritan s Garden ; Distilled and Dispensed by
C. H. Spurgeon ; in which he wrote : —
"While commenting upon the one hundred and nineteenth Psalm, I was
brought into most intimate communion with Thomas Manton, who has discoursed
upon that marvellous portion of Scripture with great fulness and power. I have come
to know him so well that I could pick him out from among a thousand divines if he
were again to put on his portly form, and display among modern men that coun-
tenance wherein was 'a great mixture of majesty and meekness.' His works occupy
twenty-two volumes in the modern reprint ; — a mighty mountain of sound theology.
They mostly consist of sermons ; but what sermons ! They are not so sparkling as
those of Henry Smith, nor so profound as those of Owen, nor so rhetorical as those
of Howe, nor so pithy as those of Watson, nor so fascinating as those of Brooks ;
and yet they are second to none of these. For solid, sensible instruction, forcibly
delivered, they cannot be surpassed. Manton is not brilliant, but he is always clear ;
he is not oratorical, but he is powerful ; he is not striking, but he is deep. There
is not a poor discourse in the whole collection ; they are evenly good, constantly
excellent. Ministers who do not know Manton need not wonder if they are
themselves unknown.
" Inasmuch as Manton used but iQ.\N fia"ures and illustrations, it came into my
head to note them all, for I felt sure that they would be very natural and forcible. I
thought it worth while to go through volume after volume, and mark the metaphors ;
and then I resolved to complete the task by culling the best figures out of the whole
of Manton's works. Thus my communing with the great Puritan ends in my
C. H. SPURGEOn's AUTOBIOGRAriiY. 283
clearing- his house of all his pictures, and hanging them up in new frames of my
own. As I leave his right to them unquestioned and unconcealed, I do not rob him ;
the rather, I increase his influence by giving him another opportunity of speaking
for his Lord and Master. One kind of work leads on to another, and labour is
lightened by being diversified ; had it not been for The Treasiiry of David, I might
not have been found spending so much time among the metaphors of Manton."
To successive generations of students. Mr. Spurgeon read Dr. James Hamilton's
four volumes of Christian Classics. It was a treat to the brethren to hear
such a work read by one who could so thoroughly appreciate it, but they
probably enjoyed even more the comments and criticisms upon the various writers
and their works with which the readings were interspersed. It was rarely indeed
that the President found any mention of an author with whose writings he was not
thoroughly familiar. He also constantly gave the students helpful hints, garnered
from his own experience, with regard to the books likely to be most useful to them,
both during their College course and afterwards when setded in the ministry or
in the foreign mission field. The informal gatherings under "The Question Oak"
at " Westwood " afforded many opportunities for the brethren to ascertain Mr.
Spurgeon's opinions upon literary matters in general, and especially to learn from
him all that they could concerning the books which most affected them as theological
students. One of the questions put to the President was, " Should novel-reading
be indulged in by ministers.'^" His reply was: — "That depends upon what you
mean by a novel. The Pilgrinis Progress and many of the best books we have are
novels, in the sense that they are not actual records of fact, though they are
absolutely true to Christian experience. Then, again, there are such works as
Sir Walter Scott's ; many of them are founded on fact, and are well worth reading
as a picture of the people and places he so ably describes, as well as for the style of
his writing. Their value lies largely in their historical truth. Some of Charles
Dickens' works are worth reading, although he has given gross caricatures of the
religious life of his times. As for the general run of novels now being issued in
such shoals, you will probably be wise to leave them alone ; i^^N of them would be
likely to do you any good, and many of them are morally tainted, or worse.''
At one of the meetings under the oak, Mr. Spurgeon told the students that he
had read Bunyan's Pilgrim s Progress at least a hundred times, and that, as a kind
of mental relaxation, he had constantly returned to the study of various branches of
natural history, and, for a change, he had turned his attention to astronomy, botany,
and other sciences. In his published lecture on "Astronomy as a Source of
Illustration," he showed the brethren how all the sciences could be utilized as
illustrations of Christian life and work. He also said that he always liked to have a
284 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
few o-Qod biographies handy, so that he could turn to the record of what the Lord
had enabled His servants to do in the past. His own collection of the " Lives" of
notable individuals was a very extensive one, and in conversation with him it was
soon evident that he was fully aware of the main facts in the careers of almost all of
them. Indeed, it was impossible to mention anyone who had been eminently useful,
or notorious, in the world, and to find that Mr. Spurgeon was ignorant of the man
or woman referred to ; in most instances, he had made himself more completely
acquainted with their histories by giving lectures upon them to his congregation or
students, or by writing summaries of their biographies for the benefit of the readers
of his magazine.
Pastor W. Williams has preserved, in his Personal Reminiscences of Charles
Haddon Spnrgeon, the following jottings concerning his beloved President's allusions
to literary matters, which will serve as specimens of the remarks that Mr. Spurgeon
frequently made when conversing with his friends : — " ' What books are you reading
now?' he asked me, one day. ' Carlyle's French Revolution i I answered. ' V'ery
good ; it is a fine work, full of nervous, bracing thought and stirring facts ; but 1
think it cannot be appreciated at its true worth unless simpler histories of France
have been read before beginning it. I would not advise anyone to take Carlyle as a
first study. Scott's Life of Napoleon is a good history. That first Napoleon was a
really great man. He had a mind, and no mistake ; his successors have been
insignificant in comparison.' 'You like ^os^^i^?, Johnson, sir, of course.' 'Oh,
yes ! that is the biography ; it stands unrivalled, and probably ever will ; and I think
Lockhart's Life of Scott and Mrs. Oliphant's Life of Edivard Irving come next.
. . . You've not read Pickwick, Williams?' 'No, I have not yet.' 'Oh, dear! I
was going to say I wish I had not, for I should like once more^ to enjoy it as I did
at the first reading. You have a treat in store. The humour of it is about perfect.'
" The Story of the Nations series greatly interested him. He read Egypt
through at least three times, and eagerly took up the others as they came out. It
was exceedingly entertaining and instructive to hear him talk about the people and
countries with which the volumes deal. . . . We had several talks, on different
occasions, about Shakespeare. He had read all his plays, and some of them
many times. . . . Saturdays at ' Westwood ' gave me an education in the matter
of many choice books, and I seldom came away without one or two. But it was a
greater treat still to hear Mr. Spurgeon himself read some charming poem or
instructive chapter. I remember, when Miss Havergal's po&ms, Under the Surface,
were issued, how he revelled in them. The one entitled ' From Glory unto Glory'
he read one evening ' over the tea-cups.' His eyes sparkled with delight, and filled
with tears of joy, as he reached the third and fourth stanzas of that magnificent
sono-.'
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography. 285
On several occasions, Mr. Spurgeon found himself in the company of a number
of High Church clergymen, and they were always greatly surprised to find that the
Baptist minister was far more familiar with the works on their side of the con-
troversy than they themselves were. They also discovered that, while he spoke
heartily in commendation of all that appeared to him to be Scriptural in the
writings of Dr. Pusey, Dr. Neale, Dr. Littledale, Isaac Williams, and other divines
of their school of thought, he was able to give good reasons for not accepting their
sacramentarian and sacerdotal theories. The same characteristic is very manifest
in his remarks upon the Ritualistic works referred to in his Commenting and
Conimcutaries. Space can only be spared for one fairly representative instance, —
Dr. John Mason Neale's Sermons on the Canticles, Preached in a Religio^ts Hoit-se,
— upon which Mr. Spurgeon thus comments : —
" By that highest of High Churchmen, Dr. Neale. These sermons smell of
Popery, yet the savour of our Lord's good ointment cannot be hid. Our
Protestantism is not of so questionable a character that we are afraid to do
justice to Papists and Anglicans, and therefore we do not hesitate to say that
many a devout thought has come to us while reading these ' Sermons by a Priest
of the Church of England.' "
Other people beside theologians often noticed the extensive and varied
knowledge that Mr. Spurgeon possessed. On one of his visits to Mentone,
he was in company with an eminent medical man, and, after . a while, the
conversation drifted round to anatomy, physiology, various diseases to which
flesh is heir, and the different modes of treatment adopted for their remo^:^al.
The doctor was quite astonished at the completeness of his companion's
acquaintance with every part of the subject, and he afterwards said : — " Mr.
Spurgeon is one of the most remarkable men I ever met. He seems to-' know
as much about the human body as any medical man might have done ; he would
have made a splendid physician."
Ariiong the Pastor's hearers at the Tabernacle, or in various seaport towns,
many sailors have often been fOuncF, listening with intense eagerness ; and the
men of the sea have often testified that they have never known him make a
mistake in his nautical allusions ; and, only recently, Rev. James Neil, M.A.,
who spent twenty years in Palestine, has borne similar witness to the accuracy
of Mr. Spurgeon's descriptions of Biblical manners and customs, thereby confirming
the verdict by Dr. Wright, mentioned in a previous part of the present chapter.
Many of ''John Ploughman's" readers have wondered that he could tell them
so much about how " to plough and sow, and reap and mow." Part ot that
286 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
familiarity with farming affairs, no doubt, dated back to his early visits to Stam-
bourne, and his walks among the furrows by the side of the godly plough man^
Will Richardson ; and part must be attributed to his constant preaching in different
parts of the kingdom, and to the opportunities thus afforded of obtaining further
information concerning agricultural pursuits ; but extensive reading also added
to the effectiveness of his references to such matters. Pastor Charles Spurgeon
related, in the previous volume of this work, the testimony of a farmer who said
that the Pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle knew far more about sheep than
he did, though he had been keeping them all his life ! The explanation of that
fact can probably be found in the President's observation to his students that, at
one time, he had made a special study of sheep and their habits. The librar)''
at " Westwood " still contains the volume to which Mr. Spurgeon then referred, —
an antiquated folio, entitled A System of Sheep-gT-azing and Management, as
Practised in Roniney Marsh, by Daniel Price (Richard Phillips, Blackfriars).
Singularly enough, at a later period, the Pastor's attention was, through someone's
mistake, again attracted to the same subject. He had written for a number of
books on quite a different theme ; but, in some unaccountable way, there came,
in the place of one of them, a large octavo volume, entitled Sheep, their Breeds,
Management, and Diseases, by William Youatt (Simpkin, Marshall, and Co.).
Mr. Spurgeon was amused at the blunder, but he kept the book, which still
retains traces of having been carefully examined and used by him.
At another time, he had collected all the old herbals he could buy, and he
had found much of interest and instruction in them. Topography was also one
of the side subjects to which he devoted a portion of his scanty leisure ; and, in
the course of his researches upon this subject, he was brought into association
with lovers of antiquarian and topographical lore in various parts of the country ;
and by their kind assistance he was able to make further welcome additions to
his already well-stored library. If he was going to preach in a district that was
new to him, he usually tried to find out everything of interest in its history,
surroundings, manufactures, or products ; and these would, in due course, guide
him in his local allusions and illustrations, and materially help to impress his
message upon his hearers' minds and hearts. Everything was made subservient to
the one great object he had before him, the glory of God in the salvation ol
sinners and the extension of the Redeemer's Kinodom.
CHAPTER CI.
Mx. Spurgtou as a litcrarg Jlan (Con^mnea).
THE STUDY AT " WESTWOOD " (SECOND VIEW).
'T the time of Mr. Spurgeon's home-going, he possessed at least
12,000 volumes. The number would have been far larger if he
had not given so generously to the libraries of the Pastors'
College and of many of the ministers trained within its walls,
and if he had not also, from his abundant stores, so freely
enriched other friends. His books almost filled the shelves of
two large rooms, — the study and the library ; one smaller room, — "the den";
288 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
and the vestibule adjoining the study. There are even more volumes at
" Westwood " to-day than there were in 1S92 ; for, while all that belonged to
the beloved owner remain just as he left them, many newly-published works
have been added to his collection. He knew the proper place and at least the
principal contents of nearly every book in his possession ; he could have fetched
almost any one of them in the dark, and if any had been taken away by a
dishonest visitor, he would speedily have missed them. Probably, a great many
of his precious treasures did become permanently lost to him through being lent,
for all who borrowed from him were not as particular in returning other people's
property as he himself was. Addressing his students, on one occasion, he said : —
" I lately met with a statement, by a clergyman, which has very much raised
my opinion of human nature ; for he declares that he has a personal acquaintance
with three gentlemen who have actually returned borrowed umbrellas ! I am
sorry to say that he moves in a more favoured circle than I do, for I have
personal acquaintance with several young men who have borrowed books, and
never returned them. The other day, a certain minister, who had lent me five
volumes, which I have used for two years or more, wrote to me a note to request
the return of three of them. To his surprise, he had them back by the next
Parcels' Delivery, and with them two others which he had forgotten. I had
caretully kept a list of books borrowed, and, therefore, could make a complete
return to the owner. I am sure he did not expect their prompt arrival, for he
wrote me a letter of mingled astonishment and gratitude ; and when I visit
his study again, I feel sure I shall be welcome to another loan. You know the
rhyme which has been written in many a man's book, —
" 'If thou art bcJrrovved by a friend,
Right welcome shall he be
To read, to study, not to lend,
But to return to me.
Not that imparted knowledge doth
Diminish learning's store ;
But books, I find, when once they're lent,
Return to me no more.'
" Sir Walter Scott used to say that his friends might be indifferent accountants,
but he was sure they were good ' book-keepers.' "
If Mr. Spurgeon could return to his study, he would have no difficulty in
finding his books, for they are still .arranged according to the method he long ago
adopted. Beginning at the right-hand side of the cupboard in the centre of the
illustration on the previous page, the volumes commence with Commentaries on
Genesis, and continue in consecutive order, through the whole of the long side
of the room, to the end of Revelation. Then follow Cyclopeedias of anecdotes,
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY,
289
illustrations, and emblems, with dictionaries and other works of reference indis-
pensable to a literary man. These books fill up half the end of the study shown
in the illustration on page 77. Then, on the other side of the doorway leading
into " the den," and partly hidden by the revolving bookcase, is a choicely-bound
set of the Pastor's sermons. These formed part of the background of one of
the latest and best of his photographs that was ever taken, and which is here
leoroduced.
C. H. SPURGEON IN HIS STUDY.
On the shelves above and below Mr. Spurgeon's volumes of sermons, is a
large assortment of theological works, sufficiently numerous to overflow to the
revolving bookcase, which also contains biographies and miscellaneous literature
T 4
290
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRArHY.
for general reading. At the opposite end of the room, on the left-hand side of
the cupboard shown in the illustration on page 287, are more theological works,
somewhat less modern than those mentioned on the previous page.
THE LIBRARY AT " WESTWOOD " (SECOND VIEW).
Several thousands of the books that belonged to Mr. Spurgeon occupied the
spacious shelves in the library here represented. In Vol. II., page 182, one
view of this room was given ; by comparing it with the above illustration, the
whole can be seen. The volumes here preserved, like those in the study, are
also arranged in sections. Beginning at the side nearest the windows, one whole
bay is filled with works on natural history and the sciences ; the next is devoted
to records of missions, travels, and adventures ; then follow biographies, which
require almost the whole of the space in the two wide sets of shelves, the
remainder being allotted to books on Bible lands. The shelves visible on the
left-hand side of the picture in Vol. II. are filled with poetry and the hymnals
used in the compilation of Our Own Hymn Book, with later additions, and some
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 29I
sermonic and other literature not usually needed in the study. Beyond the
doorway, bound volumes of periodicals, both for juveniles and adults, and more
general literature, with a large store of books of proverbs and anecdotes, need
several sets of shelves ; next follow historical and denominational works, the
topographical books described on page 286 ; a great number of old lolios, mostly
the writings of Latin authors ; and last, but certainly not least, more than a whole
bay is required for the American and other reprints of Mr. Spurgeon's sermons
and other works, and the translations of them into various foreign languages.
He was never able to procure anything like a complete set of his writings as
reproduced in other tongues, and the number of translations has been greatly
increased since his home-going; but those now at " Westwood " include Arabic,
Armenian, Bengali, Bulgarian, Castilian (for the Argentine Republic), Chinese,
Congo, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Esthonian, French, Gaelic, German, Hindi,
Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Kaffir, Karen, Lettish, Maori, Norwegian. Polish,
Russian, Servian, Spanish, Swedish, Syriac, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Welsh, with
sermons in Moon's and Braille type for the blind, making, with the dear preacher's
mother-tongue, nearly forty languages in which he continues, from the printed
page, to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ. The text most commonly
used concerning him is, " He being dead yet speaketh." Dr. Newman Hall,
referring recently to Mr. Spurgeon, gave a new rendering to that passage : —
" Then, as he yet speaketh, he is not dead." Verily, it is so.
The foregoing account of the arrangement of Mr. Spurgeon's books is
necessarily incomplete, and many hundreds of his highly-valued volumes may
thus have escaped classification ; but it gives a general idea of the books he
owned, and loved, and used, and with which he was so well acquainted that he
was prepared to discuss their contents with any visitor who called to see him.
On removing to "Westwood," and fitting up with oak bookshelves two sides
of the room used by the former occupants of the house as a drawing-room, Mr.
Spurgeon found that the space at his disposal proved too large even for the
thousands of books which had overtaxed the accommodation at " Helensburgh
House." The Pastor therefore purchased many works which he had long desired
to possess, and added them to his previous store ; and, as he had still to say,
"Yet there is room," he hit upon an ingenious expedient for temporarily filling
the empty shelves at the top of the library and study. He had a number of
dummy volumes made by his bookbinder, and had some of them lettered to
correspond with the sets of books already in his possession, such as Carlyles
Works, Macaiday s Works, Alisons History of Eiirope, Humes History of England
292 C. H. SPURGEONS AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
The Hoinilist, etc. In other cases, the titles were reversed; as, for instance, /(^(^
on Caryl, made to stand not far from Caryl on Job. The lettering of some of
the large sets of dummies was amusing. Anyone who handled the volumes entided
Wretched Scandals, by the Talkers Sisters, would find that there was nothing
in them ! Similar sets bore the titles, Mischief by Boys, Windows Ventilated by
Stone, Gunpoivder Magazine by Plunistead, and Padlock on the Understanding. But
it was upon the names of the single volumes that the Pastor exercised the greatest
ingenuity. He often referred to the meaning of Mrs. Spurgeon's Christian name,
Susannah, a lily, and associated It with Shushan, so it was not surprising that one
of the titles he used was Lilies of Shnshan, while the name of Mrs. Spurgeon's
companion suggested Thorn on Roses. The Pastor's two secretaries were
represented by the volumes entitled Mysteiaes Opened by J. L. Keys, and The
Character of IVilliani the Conqueror, by Harrald. The tutors and students of
the Pastors' College were represented by the following and other tides : — Joseph,
Samnel, and Abraham, corrected by G. Rogers ; Sublime and Beatitiful, by
D. Gracey ; Goodly Pearls, by Marchant ; Eastward Ho ! by A. G. Brown ;
Cziff on the Head ; Knell on Death ; Carter on the Road ; Cricket on the Green,
by Batts ; Over the Stream, by Bridge ; Hook and I ; Tydeman on Cleanliness ;
Hammer and Jongs, by Smith ; Aches und Pains, by Feltham (felt 'em) ; Country
Retreats, by Greenwood ; Grindery in all its Branches, by Miller ; Do it Again,
by Dunnett (done it) ; Starling, Sivijt, Finch, and another Bird ; and Flight on
the Wings of a Dove.
The international or political allusions included Bull on Bragging, ^caA Jonathan
on Exaggeration (placed side by side) ; Bulls, by Patrick ; The Art of Wasting
Time, by an Irish Member ; The Elevation of Parliament, by Gu,ido Faux ; and
Benjamin Disraeli on Honesty. The temperance titles were. Rags and Ruin, by a
Brewer ; Brains Addled by John Barleycorn ; and Madness, by L. L. Whiskey ; while
among the amusing descriptions might have been found Purchase of Land, by
L. S. D. ; Hints on Honey Pots, iy A. B. ; The Composition of Milk, by a Dealer ;
Weaver s Meditations among the Looms ; Gilpin on Riding Horses ; Absalom on the
MtUe ; Balaam on the Donkey ; Tick on Sheep ; Skid on the Ulieel ; Cat on Hot
Bricks ; Pancakes on Shrove Tuesday ; Pilgrim's Progress hindered by a Bimyan
(bufiion) ; Lectures to my Servants, by a Shjxw ; and Sticking tip for Ones Self
by a Pole.
Before very long, the number of books increased at such a rapid rate that,
instead of dummies being required to fill vacant shelves, real and substantial
volumes were standing or lying about, in various directions, because there was
no proper place available for them. It was then decided that Mr. Spurgeon
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
293
must have the use of the bookshelves in the vestibule between the hall and
the study, which up to that time had been employed as the depot and packing-
room for the works distributed in connection with Mrs. Spurgeon's Book Fund.
The accompanying illustration, which shows only about a quarter of the space
MRS. SPURGEON S BOOK FUND ROOM ON " PACKING-DAY.
available for books, gives a good idea of the appearance of the vestibule on
" packing-day." At the time the photograph was taken, there were between
twenty and thirty Book Fund grants arranged ready to be made up into separate
parcels, and despatched to ministers in all parts of the United Kingdom. The
294
H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
nearness of this set of shelves to the study made it a very valuable annexe, and
a room in another part of the house was adapted and fitted up for the use of the
Manager of the Book Fund and her helpers.
Still later, a greater alteration was made, by which additional accommodation
was provided for the ever-multiplying books. During Mr. Spurgeon's absence
at Mentone, one winter, a new room was built, connecting the study with the
small conservatory, where he liked to sit for a few minutes, in the chair here
represented, admiring the choice flowers, watching the fishes and grasses in the
THE EMPTY CHAIR IN THE SMALL CONSERVATORY.
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
295
miniature aquarium, and reading or meditating- upon the theme of some anticipated
address or sermon. One result of the altered arrangements was that, in wet
weather, the Pastor could have a continuous walk, under shelter, from the fernery
at one side of the house to the greenhouses at the other end. By steadily
tramping the whole distance, backwards and forwards, several times, a very fair
amount of exercise could be obtained when it was not possible to be out of doors.
It had also long been felt that Mr. Spurgeon needed another and more private
study, into which he could retire for devotion and pulpit preparation, or for
interviews with special visitors. This room was always called " the den," though
A COE.N'ER OF "THE DEN," SHOWING SOME OF MR. SPUR&EON S PURITANS.
296 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
it was a very different kind of place from Bunyan's apartment in the Bedford
prison to which the immortal dreamer gave that name. In this favoured spot,
the works of the Puritan divines were lovingly arranged by the one who always
repudiated the title many times accorded to him, — Ultiimis Piiritanorum, the
last of the Puritans, — for he believed that he had helped to train hundreds of
men who would continue the Puritanical succession after he was gone from their
midst, and he also knew that there were, in other denominations and other lands,
multitudes of believers in the truths which the Puritans taught, and for which
many of them suffered even unto death.
The empty chair, in the corner of "the den," is the one in which Mr. Spurgeon
used to sit at the head of the study table. After he was "called home," it was put
away so that no one else should occupy it. In addition to the Puritans, "the den"
contains a large quantity of homiletical, exegetical, and proverbial literature, with a
number of miscellaneous volumes for general reading. The new room was a great
boon to the busy Pastor, and many a powerful sermon for the congregation at the
Tabernacle, or weighty address for the students of the Pastors' College, or bright
article for The Sivord and the Trowel, first saw the light in the quiet seclusion of
" the den."
Mr. Spurgeon never cared to buy a book simply because it was rare, unless it
was one of the Puritans that he needed for his collection. He valued literary works
for their usefulness, not simply for their market price ; yet he possessed a great
many volumes, bearing their authors' autograph inscriptions, which he highly
prized ; and, among them, some of Mr. Ruskin's were always accorded a prominent
position as reminders of the early and cordial friendship which existed between him
and the Pastor. Sir A. H. Layard, Dr. Livingstone, M. Paul B. Du Chaillu, Mr.
C. W. M. van de Velde, Dr. W. M. Thomson, Dr. William Wright, Dr. Lansdell,
Mr. John MacGregor ("Rob Roy"), and many other travellers are represented at
" Westwood " by their works duly inscribed, or by letters from them fastened in their
books. It was one of Mr. Spurgeon's few "hobbies" to have the photographs and
autographs of all authors, as far as he could, with portions of the manuscripts of their
works, or other specimens of their handwriting, inserted in one or more of their
volumes, thus materially increasing their value, at least in his estimation. Perhaps
it was this fancy which made him so freely give his own signature to other collectors
of autographs, even if they did not always enclose stamps with their applications ;
and the same reason may also have prompted him to write in the many hundreds of
books that he gave to his friends, who now prize them all the more because of
the tender and loving inscriptions with which he enhanced the intrinsic worth of
his Pfifts.
C. II. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 297-
One of his letters shows that, in his anxiety to secure the signature of a friend
whose writings he valued, he unintentionally wrote a second time to the same
individual : —
" Nightingale Lane,
" Clapham,
" May 1 1.
" Dear Sir,
" I have to apologize for having troubled you twice about so small a
matter as your autograph ; but the fact is, I did not recognize Dr. David Brown, of
Duncan s Memoir as the David Brown of the Conuncntary. Pray excuse me.
" I am getting to fear and tremble about the Browns. You must know that
the President and Vice-President of our Baptist Union are both Browns, and that
the chairman of our London Association is also a Brown. Browns to the rioht of us.
Browns to the left of us, etc. God bless them all !
" Yours heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
The following genial note, from Sir Emilius Bayley, was written in reply to a
request for his photograph and autograph to be inserted in his book, Deep unto-
Deep :—
" 14, Hyde Park Street, W.,
"May 29, 1878.
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" Thanks for your very kind reply to my letter, and also for the photo-
graph you were so good as to send me.
" I should have sent an earlier acknowledgment, but I had to get the
enclosed portrait taken, and some little delay ensued. I very readily fall in with a
' whim ' which is so flattering to your friends.
" May our gracious Father bless your labours very abundantly !
" Believe me,
" Yours very faithfully,
" Emilius Bayley."
In reply to a letter from Mr. Spurgeon to Dr. Andrew A. Bonar, asking for
his portrait and autograph to insert in his Coinnicntary on the Book of Leviticus,
the beloved author sent his photograph, and the following characteristic note : —
" Dear Brother,
" I cannot refuse what you are so kind as to ask. But if you had
only waited a little while, it would have been really worth having, — for ' we shall
2gS c. II. spurgeon's autobiography.
be LIKE Him' (i John iii. 2). iNIeantlme, the enclosed may hint to you that
sometimes you should pray for me.
"Yours, with all brotherly love,
" Andrew A. Bonar."
The same writer's volume, Christ and His Church in the Book of Psalms,
contains the inscription: — "This book was given to me by my dear friend,
I\Ir. Bonar, and the corrections are made by his own hand. — C. H. Spurgeon."
Dr. Horatius Bonar's volume, Earth's Morning : or. Thoughts on Genesis, is thus
commended: — ''A deeply thoughtful and thought-creating- book."
In Ihie Book of Psalms ; a Ah'iu Translation, tvith Introductions and Notes,
Explanatory and Critical, by J. J. Stewart Perowne, B.D., Mr. Spurgeon wrote: —
" For a modern book, this has become very rare. It is most accurate and valuable."
The volume also contains a letter from the author (now the Bishop of Worcester),
written while he was Dean of Peterborough, in which he said : — " I thank you
heartily lor your kind words about my book on the Psalms. I am the more
sensible of your approbation, because you have yourself conferred so inestimable
a boon upon the Church by the publication of your Treas^iry of David. There
is no book like it as an aid to devout meditation on one of the most precious
portions of God's Word. I hope some day you will visit Peterborough. It would
be a pleasure to me to show you our beautiful cathedral."
The volume of Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, by the present Bishop
of Liverpool (Dr. J. C. Ryle), contains his portrait, and a letter which he wrote
to Mr. Spurgeon, in 1S75, when he was vicar of Stradbroke, in which he said : — •
"You want no praise of man, and you know its worthlessness. But I must tell
you how much I like your Lectures to my Students. I have rarely seen so many
nails hit right on the head. I should like to give a copy to every young clergyman
in the Church of England ! I hope you are pretty well. I have had much illness
in the last four years, and feel nearer home than I ever felt before."
Yet he has been spared to continue his faithful testimony for nearly another
quarter of a century; and only towards the close of 1S99 has he felt compelled to
intimate his approaching resignation of his bishopric, while his younger friend,
to whom he wrote so heartily, has been " at home " for nearly eight years !
Mr. Spurgeon desired to possess a specimen of the manuscript of Dr. Charles
Hodge, Professor in the Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A. ;
and, in reply to a note to that effect, addressed to his son, Dr. A. A. Hodge,
the latter wrote the kind letter printed on the opposite page.
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 299
" Princeton,
" New Jersey,
" July ist, 1879.
" Rev. Charles H. Spurcreon,
" Dear Sir,
" I thank you very much for your kind note, relating to the Outlines,
received yesterday. Your many friends, on this side of the ocean, have been
anxious about your health, as we have received irregular, and imperfect, and
perhaps irresponsible reports of it from time to time. I sincerely trust that it is
re-established fundamentally and permanently. Yet I am sure that God has warned
you, as the trusted steward of His gifts, not to work so hard and continuously.
" I send you, herewith, two of my father's papers, prepared for the Con-
ferences held by the Professors and students, every Sabbath afternoon, in our
Oratory. Nelson, of Edinburgh, has just published a volume containing 249 of
them. These I send you are originals in my father's handwriting.
" May the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit, bless you with all blessings in
Christ Jesus oiw Lord !
" Give my best respects to Mrs. Spurgeon.
" Yours sincerely,
"A. A. Hodge."
Mr. Spurgeon's copy of Dr. A. A. Hodge's Outlines of Theology contains
his autograph, and this entry in Mr. Spurgeon's handwriting: — "Autograph written
in my study, Aug. 8, 1877. — C. H. S."
Dr. Fergus Ferguson, of Glasgow, in thanking Mr. Spurgeon for the notice
oi\\\'~> Life of Christ, wrote, in 1882: — "You must be well-nigh overwhelmed with
literary work alone, — not to speak of the pastoral. ... I cannot close this letter,
which I hope you will not think intrusive, without venturing to express my high
admiration of your Christian worth and character, as well as my lofty estimate of the
position which, in providence, you have been called to fill. The influence you wield,
both by pulpit and press, in a perhaps unexampled degree in the annals of the
Christian ministry, is to me the very zenith and beau ideal of what human influence
should be. May you yet be long spared to wield such influence ! God has
chastened you not a little by personal and domestic affliction, — thus putting you
into the highest class of His spiritual seminary, like the scholars whom Continental
teachers call privatissinii, — those to whom they give advanced lessons in their
own dwellings."
In addition to the letters, manuscripts, photographs, and autographs of the
300 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
authors, which Mr. Spurgeon preserved in his copies of their works, whenever
he could obtain them, he also wrote his own name in many of the volumes, with an
expression of his opinion of their contents. There are, perhaps, among his books,
some hundreds of these inscriptions ; many of them are autobiographical, and for
that reason deserve a place in the present work. It is worthy of note that,
while this chapter has been in course of preparation, the compilers have met with
an interesting article by Mr. Andrew Lang, entitled "Scrawls on Books," which
shows that he approved of the custom which the Pastor so extensively observed.
Among other things, he wrote : — " The practice of scribbling on fly-leaves and
margins has many enemies. I confess that I am not among these purists. I like
to see these footprints on the sands of literature, left by dead generations, and to
learn from them something about previous owners of books, if it be but their
names. . . . We should all write our names, at least ; no more of us may ever
reach posterity. . . . As a rule, tidy and self-respecting people do not even write
their names on their fly-leaves, still less do they scribble marginalia. Collectors
love a clean book, but a book scrawled on may have other merits. Thackeray's
countless caricatures add a delight to his old school-books ; the comments of Scott
are always to the purpose ; but how few books once owned by great authors come
into the general market ! Where is Dr. Johnson's library, which must bear traces
of his buttered toast ? Sir Mark Sykes used to record the date and place of
purchase, with the price, — an excellent habit. These things are more personal than
book-plates, which may be and are detached by collectors, and pasted into volumes.
The selling value of a book may be lowered even by a written owner's name ; but
many a book, otherwise worthless, is redeemed by an interesting note. Even the
uninteresting notes gradually acquire an antiquarian value, if contemporary with the
author. They represent the mind of a dead age, and perhaps the common scribbler
is not unaware of this ; otherwise, he is indeed without excuse. For the great
owners of the past, certainly, we regret that they were so sparing in marginalia."
The first volume of the Autobiography (page 254) proves that Mr. Spurgeon
commenced, quite early in his ministry, the practice which Mr. Lang commends,
for the inscriptions in Dr. Gill's Commentary, there quoted, date back to 1852. In
Martin Luther's Comjjientary on the Epistle to the Galatians, is written: — "This
volume is one of my earliest friends ; — needs no letter of commendation. —
C. H. Spurgeon, 1852."
The following remarkable commendation is inserted on the fly-leaf of the first
volume of ^ Compleat History and Mystery of the Old and New Testament, logically
discussed and theologically improved, by Christopher Ness : — " Reader, — Here is
something worth all thy time, though thou read it all day long. Give eyes and
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 3OI
heart a feast here. Here is goodly word-painting and rich heart-breathing. —
C. H. Spurgeon."
The third volume is marked " much valued ; " and the fourth has this inscrip-
tion : — " I reckon these four volumes to be worth their weight in gold. They may
contain some eccentric conceits, but these are as the dust upon a palace. I doubt
not that Matthew Henry borrowed very extensively from Ness, and certainly showed
his wisdom in so doing. If these volumes shall become the property of another, I
charge him either to read them carefully and prayerfully, or else to give or lend them
to some godly person who can appreciate them. Such a treasure should be out at
interest. — C. H. Spurgeon. Nov., '58."
In 1857, Mr. Spurgeon wrote in Matthew Pool's Annotations : — " Pool is a most
excellent expositor." Dr. John Mayer's Commentarie tipon the Ahtv Testament
bears the inscription : — " Mayer is one of my greatest favourites. — C. H. Spurgeon,
1859." The same author's volume on the Historical Books is described as "excel-
lent, full of research, and rare learning."
Two volumes of Dr. Adam Clarke's Coninientary contain lengthy but not
commendatory notes. In Vol. I., Mr. Spurgeon wrote, just below the portrait of
the commentator: — "who discovered that an ape, and not a serpent, deceived
Adam." At the top of the title-page is this warning: — "Take heed, reader! This
is dangerous oround for those who are not ofrounded and settled." Vol. VI. has
this inscription: — "Adam Clarke is as immortal as his monkey, and other errors;
see notes on Genesis. He is always to be read with caution, for his sentiments are,
in my judgment, most unscriptural. — C. H. Spurgeon." On the title-page, after
the words, "A Commentary and Critical Notes," there is added: — "Adapted to
blind the eye, and prevent the truth in Jesus from shining upon the soul," by Adam
Clarke, — " Arminian twister of the Word."
By way of contrast, it may be mentioned that Dr. Gill's Exposition of Solomon s
^"c?/^ contains Mr. Spurgeon's autograph, and the following note: — "This priceless
work of my learned predecessor has always been helpful to me." In different
volumes of John Trapp's Annotations tipon the Old and New Testaments, Mr.
Spurgeon wrote : — Prized for its quaintness ; " "A great favourite ; " " Trapp is ever
my favourite, 1873." -^ large folio edition of Ralph Ersklne's Works has two
inscriptions: — "The Rev. Joseph Irons, the gift of his father;" and underneath,
"Valued all the more by me as having been the property of Joseph Irons. — C. H.
Spurgeon." Bloomfield's Greek Testament, zvith English Notes, is inscribed : — " I
value Bloomfield exceedingly : I can always make more out of him than out of
Alford. — C. H. Spurgeon, Sep., 1872."
;o2
c. H. sturgeon's autobiography.
The copy of Cruden's Coiicordancc, which Mr. Spurgeon always used, contains
upon its riy-leaf the testimony here reproduced \n facsimile : —
-^
.C^jZ-x^
0C^^^-^ ^-4- ^ Z^^ w^o -Z-^
i
7/
Taking, almost at random, the works of various authors who wrote on separate
Books of the Bible, the following inscriptions will serve as specimens of the
comments, favourable and otherwise, inserted in them : —
In Dr. James M orison's Practical Commentary on the Gospel according to
Matthew, Mr. Spurgeon wrote : — " Volume greatly valued for its scholarship.
Difficult to find much Morisonianism here." The Geniii^s of the Gospel, by Dr.
David Thomas, contains this note: — "A suggestive volume, but rather bombastic."
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY,
303
On the title-page of the same writer's work, The Book of Psalms Exegetically and
Practically Considered, opposite the author's name, — David Thomas,- — Mr. Spuro-eon
added : — " Not David, nor Thomas. David scrabbHng, Thomas doubting." The
same writer's Honiiletic Convnentary on the Acts of the Apostles contains his
photograph, autograph, and the following remarks : — " Many of the homiletic
outlines strike me as 'much ado about nothing;' still, if a man should read this
work, and get no help from it, it would be his own fault. — C. H. Spurgeox, 1S74."
Three books on the Epistle to the Romans naturally have references to the
writers' doctrinal views. Of Dr. F. A. Philippi, Mr. Spurgeon wrote : — " Frequently
goes out of his way to have a fling at what he thinks to be Calvinism." Rev.
William Tyson's Expositoiy Lectures are said to be " Excellent for an Arminian.
I find him sweetly Evangelical in many places." Dr. David Ritchie's Lectures,
Explanatory and Practical, are described as " Unsound in many respects. Of the
Moderate School, I should judge."
James Fergusson's Brief Exposition of the Epistles of Paul contains the
autograph and date, C. H. Spurgeon, 1878; and this note: — "A volume of great
worth. Few books have been more frequently consulted by me. — C. H. S." John
Barlow on 2 Timothy I. and II. is thus commended: — "Though apparently
unattractive, this book will richly repay a careful reader. — C. H. Spurgeon."
Nicholas Byfield, on / Peter /., //., aiid HI, is wittily criticised : — " Byfield is
discursive, and takes in every by-field which he had better have passed by. Yet,
in his Preface, he calls this an abridgment ! I am glad it was not my lot to hear
him. — C. H. Spurgeon." Nathanael Hardy on The First Epistle of John, is said
to be "a rare divine, this Hardy; an Episcopalian Puritan."
In Frederick Denison Maurice's Prophets and Kings of the Old Testament,
Mr. Spurgeon wrote : — " Herein we find a great deal of wild doctrine, but yet
there is thought cf no mean order. We can wash out the gold." The work
of a writer of quite another stamp — Notes on the Book of Genesis, by C. H. M.,
— is thus described: — "Good in its line, but too cramped. There is also error
concealed here and there." Range's Genesis is said to be " one of the best of the
series;" but his Isaiah is characterized as "very poor." Dr. Pusey on The Minor
Prophets bears the unique distinction of being highly commended in a single
word: — "Invaluable. — C. H. Spurgeon, 1878." Sermons on Judges, by Richard
Rogers, contains this note : — "C H. Spurgeon much prizes this book. — 1882."
Among other brief but notable notes are the following : —
Durham's Christ Crucified: — " Much prized."
304 C. H. SPURGEONS AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Practical Reflections on Every Verse of the Holy Gospels, by a clergyman : —
*' Good, simple, marred."
Poetical Works of George Herbert : — " Much valued by C. H. Spurgeon."
Darling's Cyclopcedia Bibliographica : — " An invaluable tool."
Joseph Taylor's volume, Nahirales C7iriosa: : Cttriosities in Natttral History,
contains the warning, " Believe not too readily. — C. H. Spurgeon."
In Whitefielci's Sermons is the autograph, with the inscription following: —
" C. H. Spurgeon, who admires Whitefield as chief of preachers."
The Sabbath in Puritan Nezv England, by Alice Morse Earle, probably
contains the last inscription written by the Pastor, and a very expressive one it is :—
"An amusing but saddening book. The seamy side of New England religion
exposed. The authoress is the wife of that Ham of whom we read in Genesis. —
C. H. Spurgeon, Dec, 1891." He knew that there was a "seamy side" even to
his beloved Puritanism ; but he felt that it ought not to be thus exposed to the
public gaze, but to be kindly and charitably concealed.
CHAPTER CII.
M^^ Sprttrgeoit as a iittrarg JHait (Conc/^^dcc^j.
OT only did Mr. Spurgeon, to the end of his life, continue to read
vast numbers of the works written by ancient and modern authors,
but he also kept on writing books for other people to read ; and
when he was " called home," he had so many in course of pre-
paration that his posthumous works already form quite a numerous
company, and there are many more yet to be published. Whoever
is spared to see a complete set of his volumes will probably find that they will then
number not less than. a hundred and fifty.
During the period covered by the present portion of the Standard Life, T/ie
Treasury of David was completed, and the regular issue of The Metropolitan
Tabernacle Pulpit, The Sivord and the Trowel, and Spnrgeoiis Illnstrated [Book]
Almanack, ?iX\AJohn Ploitghnians (Sheet) Almanack was continued, as indeed they
have been since the Pastor's home-going. Many people appear to have thought
that it was hardly possible for Mr. Spurgeon, with the almost incessant demands
upon his time and strength, to devote much personal attention to certain portions of
his literary labours, so they attributed to his helpers a good deal of the toil that
devolved upon him. One person was credited with the compilation of the Book
Almanack, although its Editor never entrusted it to anyone but himself until the
year of his long illness ; and on one occasion, at least, he felt it needful to remind
his readers that his connection with The Sivord and the Trozvel Avas not by any
means a merely nominal one, but was very real and practical. In his " Notes" for
April, 1885, anticipating his return from Mentone, he wrote : —
" A kindly reviewer speaks of our March number as vivacious and crood,
' notwithstanding the absence of the Editor.' The fact is, that the Editor is never
absent from the magazine; but personally reads every line of each number. Friends
now and then write, blaming some supposed subordinate, if their tastes are not
pleased ; but the Editor hides behind nobody, friends must please blame //////, for he
is personally responsible. Our writers are able men, and are quite able to fight
their own battles, should battles occur ; but the Editor never wishes it to be
imagined that he merely puts his name on the cover of the magazine, and leaves it
u 4
306 C. H. SPURGEON's AUTOBIOGRArHY.
to be produced by other people. No ; it is our continual endeavour to make this
serial as good as we can make it, and we would do better if we could. Notwith-
standing illness, or absence from home, we have never been obliged to delegate our
duties to anyone else ; on the contrary, we have given all the more time to this work
when we have been debarred from other labours."
Many of the books published by Mr. Spurgeon during the last fourteen years
of his busy life were briefly mentioned in Vol. III., Chapter LXXIX., because of
their connection with others then described, or they have been already referred
to in previous chapters of the present volume. One of the Pastor's ardent
admirers made an artistic arrangement of the titles of many of the works which had
been issued up to the time of his Jubilee, with his portrait in the centre, and
allusions to the three spheres of his pastoral service, and the chief educational and
philanthropic Institutions with which his name is inseparably associated. The
design is reproduced on the opposite page, where it can be seen that the initials,
C. H. S., are ingeniously introduced into the closing line of the tribute to Mr.
Spurgeon's loving and sympathetic service and world-wide influence.
Taking the later books in chronological order, the first to be noted is The Clue
of the Maze, a Voice Lifted up on behalf of Honest Faith. The Preface describes
its autobiographical character : — " How I have personally threaded the labyrinth of
life, thus far, may be of helpful interest to some other soul which just now is in a
maze." The sub-title is thus explained: — "A great poet let fall the expression,
'honest doubt.' How greedily it was clutched at! Modern unbelief is so short
of the quality that it seized the label, and, in season and out of season, it has
advertized itself as honest doubt. It was in dire need of a character. Feeble as
our voice may be, we lift it on behalf of honest faith." The book was first issued
in a bijou edition, suitable for carrying in the waistcoat pocket, but it has since been
reprinted in large type, to correspond with other shilling books by Mr. Spurgeon.
He was greatly gratified as he heard, from time to time, that his purpose in writing
it had been happily fulfilled ; and he was specially cheered by the testimony of a
notable literary man who had been, through reading it, lifted up from blank
atheism to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The little book has been trans-
lated into several foreign languages.
About the same time as The Chce of the Maze was published, the Pastor was
busily occupied with the first of his four volumes, entitled My Sermon-Notes. They
were issued in response to an oft-repeated request for outlines of discourses which
might be helpful to "lay" or local preachers who have but little time for their
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
307
If
; v^
<lA Truer /leart npcr Beat , a KinVllier Rcina,
'HS^e'eT' TTiiriLstere^ unbo anoMiers need :
^JVtont^ue M-Jiost livinc; words, Ting'^ver every lanrL
nVhilerVViaows, Orj>r,ani!.Sh<'Hent«,Pr.enas:ci lov
~^ Orv H envea Spe e d !
I
I
C. H. SPURGEON AND THE TITLES OF SOME OF HIS WORKS, 1S84.
30S C. H. SPURGEON's AUTOBIOGRArHY.
pulpit preparation, or who find a difficulty in selecting suitable subjects for sermons
and addresses. In order that the notes mioht be of still greater service to such
brethren, they were made rather more ample and detailed than when Mr. Spurgeon
himself preached from them ; and, for the same reason, appropriate extracts and
illustrations were added to them. That the work met an urgent need, was speedily
apparent ; and it was not long before a " Note" to the following effect appeared in
The Sivord and the Troivel : —
"Our first half-crown volume of outline sermons has met with a very cordial
reception, the first edition of 5,000 being very nearly cleared out, though only so
lately presented to the public. Taking this as a token for good, we shall soon issue
the second portion, which contains our notes of sermons from Ecclesiastes to
Malachi. Brethren whose time is much occupied with business cares, who neverthe-
less delight to preach the Word of God, will find these Sermon-Notes to be a great
assistance. With that view we have prepared them, and to that end we trust that
God will bless them. They are not sufficiently in extenso to suit the idler, and yet
we trust there is enough of them to aid the embarrassed worker. The preparation
of this volume has enabled us to while away the evenings and the occasional wet
and cloudy days of our rustication at Mentone. As its fragmentary nature allowed
us to take it up and lay it down at will, it was just the sort of occupation to afford us
happy recreation. To have nothing to do, is bondage ; but such congenial employ-
ment as this has aided us in being perfectly at ease."
In due time, the whole set was completed, and it has had a very large sale.
Since the Pastor's home-going, another volume of a somewhat sim.ilar character has
been published, — C. H. Spurgeons Facsimile Pulpit-Notes, ivith the Sermons
Pj^eached from them in the Metropolitan Tabernacle. The book originated in
rather a singular way. A paragraph appeared in various newspapers, announcing
that some of the notes used by Mr. Spurgeon, while preaching at the Tabernacle,
were about to be reproduced in facsimile, and the writer intimated that the work
would be certain to have a favourable reception. As a matter of fact, up to that
time, no such arrangement had been made ; but the idea seemed so good, and the
publicity given to it was so helpful, that a dozen suitable outlines were selected, and,
with the discourses delivered from them, were made into a volume which at once
became an interesting memento of the " promoted " preacher, and a striking illus-
tration of his method of sermon construction.
The book, which has the double distinction of having been translated into more
foreign languages and of* having been blessed to the salvation of more souls than
any other of Mr. Spurgeon's works, is the shilling volume entitled All of Grace.
An Earnest Word with those zuho are Seeking Salvation by the Lord Jesiis Christ.
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography. 309
Its opening sentences are : — "The object of this book is the salvation of the reader.
He who spoke and wrote it will be greatly disappointed if it does not lead many to
the Lord Jesus. It is sent forth in childlike dependence upon the power of God the
Holy Ghost, to use it in the conversion of millions, if so He pleases." Almost the
last paragraph contains these words, which now have a peculiar pathos attaching
to them : — " If those who are converted become winners of others, who knows what
may spring out of my little book .^ Already 1 begin praising God for the conversions
which He will work by it, and by those whom it leads to Jesus. Probably the
larger part of the results will happen when my right hand, which is now leaving its
impress on the page, will be paralyzed in death. Reader, meet me in Heaven ! "
One of the many instances of the usefulness of the little volume, of which the
Pastor knew before he was " called home," was reported to him in the following
letter from a doctor who was a member of the Tabernacle Church : —
" My Dear Sir,
" I have a message to give you, and will do it as briefly as I can.
" For many years, I have had the friendship of a well-known medical man in
. For some two or three years, he has suffered from diabetes ; but he h^s
lived just the same, entirely without Christ. Last Christmas, I sent him a copy of
All of Grace. A short time ago, when I was at the seaside, I received a letter
from a friend in which he said, ' I believe Dr. is saved,' . . . ' the teaching has
been all Mr. Spurgeon's.' This I was delighted to hear.
"Yesterday, I stood by his side. I found him very ill, suffering from inflam-
mation of the lungs, consequent on the diabetes. He took my hands, and, as well
as he could between his tears, and the shortness of breath, told me that he was
saved, that he was a child of God, that his sins were all forgiven, that he was washed
in the blood of his Saviour, and clothed in the robe of His perfect righteousness ;
and recovering his breath, he said, very solemnly, 'Will you tell Mr. Spurgeon that
this has all come, in God's mercy to me a poor sinner, by that book,' — pointing
to All of Grace, which was lying open on his bed, — ' will you let him know what a
blessing that book has been to me .'^ '
" Dear sir, I have delivered the message. I know you will be pleased to
receive it, and will you remember my dear friend in prayer ?
" Believe me to be,
"Yours deeply-indebted.
The book having been so manifestly owned of God, Mr. Spurgeon prepared a
companion volume, — According to Promise ; or, the Lords Ulethod of Dealing ivitli
His Chosen People ; and, some time later, he issued Around the Wicket Gate ; or, a
3IO C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Fricndiv Talk ivith Seekers concerning Faith in the Lord Jes2is Christ, both of
which have had a wide circulation, and have been greatly blessed.
The volume which, more than any other of Mr. Spurgeon's writings, illustrates
his power of rapid composition, is The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith. It
consists of 366 Scripture promises, arranged for daily use, with brief experimental
comments suitable for reading at family worship or as a help to private devotion.
During the Pastor's stay at Mentone, in the winter of 1887 — 8, there was one
Monday when the rain poured down incessantly in such tropical fashion that he was
compelled to remain indoors all day. His companions were not aware that he was
contemplating the commencement of another new book, but they noticed how
rapidly he was covering sheet after sheet of foreign notepaper. After a while, he
explained that he had begun a volume of daily meditations ; and, before he went to
bed, that night, he had finished the portions for the month of January, and handed
them to Mr. Passmore to send off to London for the printers. They were so
carefully written that they needed but little correction ; and anyone who has the
book, and examines the first thirty-one pages in it, will be able to estimate both the
quantity and the quality of one wet day's work while the Pastor was supposed to be
on his holiday in the sunny South.
The Cheque Book is, to a large extent, a record of Mr. Spurgeon's own experiences
of the Lord's faithfulness during the " Down-grade " Controversy. Some of the most
striking promises, on which he has commented, were sent to him by friends, who
wished to uphold and encourage him in that season of sore sorrow and travail, and
the book abounds in autobiographical allusions. In the Preface, the Pastor wrote : —
" To the cheering Scriptures, I have added testimonies of my own, the fruit of trial and
experience. I believe all the promises of God, but many of them I have personally
tried and proved .... I commenced these daily portions when I was wading in
the surf of controversy. Since then, I have been cast into 'waters to swim in,'
which, but for God's upholding hand, would have proved waters to drown in. ... I
do not mention this to exact sympathy, but simply to let the reader see that I am no
drv-land sailor. I have traversed those oceans which are not Pacific full many a
time: I know the roll of the billows, and the rush ot the winds. Never were the
promises of Jehovah so precious to me as at this hour. Some of them I never
understood till now ; I had not reached the date at which they matured, for I was
not mvself mature enough to perceive their meaning. How much more wonderful
is the Bible to me now than it was a few months ago ! In obeying the Lord, and
bearing His reproach outside the camp, I have not received new promises; but the
result to me is much the same as if I had done so, for the old ones have opened up
to me with richer stores."
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 3II
Remembering- the origin of the book, it is noteworthy that, during the compi-
lation of the present volume, a testimony to its helpfulness in times of trial has come
from Christians in South Africa, who have been reading the Dutch translation of it,
and so have been comforted during their recent terrible experiences. Mr. Spurgeon
had many proofs of the usefulness of the volume ; one that interested and amused
him was thus related by Pastor W. Williams, of Upton Chapel : —
" Opposite my study-window are several gardens, affording during summertime
a pleasant outlook ; but, in the first of them, there zuas tied up, until recently, a
large retriever dog. His incessant barking made study and thought quite out of
the question. I let his owner know this in a quiet way ; but still the dog was there.
I wondered if I should pray about the matter : it seemed rather comical to pray
about the barking of a dog ; besides, I could not bring to mind a promise about
such a thing which I could mention in prayer, until one day I opened Mr.
Spurgeon's Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith, at page 157, where the text is,
' But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue,' the
comment on which begins, 'What! has God power over the tongues of dogs?
Can He keep curs from barking? Yes, it is even so.' I was startled, for no dog
ever laid hold with greater tenacity than this text did on me. There and then
I knelt down, and asked that the dog might be removed. The dog has
gone, and the owner, too ; but mark, the arrangements to go were made by the
owner just about the time that the prayer was offered ! How true it is that —
"'More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of!'"
Following The Cheque Book, Mr. Spurgeon published two volumes of quite a
different character, — The Salt-cellars, being a Collection of Proverbs, together zvith
Homely Notes thereon. For nearly twenty years, he had issued John Ploughman s
Almanack, and the labour involved in collecting or composing so many thousands
of proverbs, maxims, and mottoes, seemed to justify their preservation in a more
permanent form than the annual broadsheet ensured. Accordingly, they were
arranged alphabetically, in two sections, " Proverbs and Quaint Sayings," and
"Sayings of a more Spiritual Sort;" and, in nearly every instance, "Homely
Notes" were added, concerning which one reviewer wrote: — "The proverbs are
excellent, but Mr. Spurgeon's comments are perfect."
Each of the volumes, as it was published, received a most hearty welcome both
from the press and the public, and their contents have ever since been frequently
quoted in the pulpit and on the platform. Mr. Spurgeon sent the two books to
Mr. George Augustus Sala, with a request that he would review them in The
Daily Telegraph if he judged them worthy of such a notice. In reply, Mr. Sala wrote
a long and cordial letter, in the course of which he said : — "Your two volumes were
312 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY
such pleasant reading- that I thought the best way to meet your views would be
to make The Salt-cellars the text for a leading article, which I now have much
pleasure in sending you. Naturally, I was struck (and amused) by the maxim,
' Newspapers are the Bibles of worldlings.' That is exactly so ; and it is eminently
fitting that it should be so ; because, to a journalist who is aware of the usefulness
and respects the dignity of his calling, the press is a pulpit whence, on week-days,
he preaches lay sermons, leaving Sunday to you and your brethren."
Mr. Sala then proceeded to give quite a lengthy dissertation on the maxim
which had so greatly interested him, but it need not be quoted here from his
letter, as he referred to it again in his article, the opening and closing sentences of
which were as follows : —
" A really busy man has usually the largest amount of leisure at his disposal,
and Mr. C. H. Spurgeon, amidst the multifarious labours and responsibilities which
de\'olve on him as Pastor of an immense congregation, has found time to dig and
delve very deeply indeed in that richest of colloquial mines, — the treasury of
English proverbs. Under the title of The Salt-cellars, Mr. Spurgeon has just issued
two comely and handy volumes, which will derive much value, not only from the
fact that the work is one presenting evidence of indefatigable industry of research
and considerable acumen in selection, but also from the circumstance that the
compiler has graced his chosen proverbs with a running commentary of what he
modestly calls 'homely notes.' In reality, they are often humorous as well as
homely, and are always replete with that spirit of cheerful piety, quite devoid of
cant or bigotry, which renders Mr. .Spurgeon's utterances always acceptable even
to those who differ from him most widely in dogma. . . .
" Mr. Spurgeon has chosen to select, as a proverb, that which appears to us to
be more of the nature of a pulpit platitude, ' Newspapers are the Bibles of
worldlings ;' and to this we have the homely note, ' How diligently they read them !
Here they find their law. and profits, their judges and chronicles, their epistles and
revelations.' The newspapers, however, must take their chance of being abused,
even by those who most diligently read them. Journalists are a long-suffering race,
and it curiously happens that, among old Howell's proverbs, collected more than
two centuries since, we find this one, ' A diurnal-maker is the sub-amner to a
historian.' We have no quarrel, therefore, with Mr. Spurgeon on this account.
What he says about newspapers has long since been said at the Antipodes, where
the vast weekly budgets of the Sydney and Melbourne journals are habitually
called 'The Bushman's Bible,' constituting, as they do, the almost exclusive reading
of the shepherds and stockriders far away in the bush. Altogether, The Salt-
cellars may be welcomed as an equally entertaining and edifying compilation ; and
the scheme, as well as the actual accomplishment of the work, is alike creditable to
C. H. STURGEONS AUTODIOGRAPHY. 313-
the heart and the head of an estimable minister of religion who has long since won
the rank of an English worthy."
If there had been sufficient space available, an interesting chapter might have
been compiled concerning " Mr. Spurgeon as a Poet and Hymn-writer." As that
is not possible, the specimens of his poetry included in the present and the previous
volumes of this work will convey some idea of his gifts in that direction ; and
one more must find a place here, partly because of its autobiographical character,
but also because it was the last that he ever wrote. He put at the top of it, as the
motto-text, "I will make the dry land springs of water;" and as the title, "The
Drop which Grew into a Torrent. A Personal Experience."
" All my soul was dry and dead
Till I learned that Jesus bled ; —
Bled and suffer'd in my place,
Bearing sin in matchless grace.
"Then a drop of Heavenly love
Fell upon me from above,
And by secret, mystic art
Reached the centre of my heart.
"Glad the story I recount,
How that drop became a fount.
Bubbled up a living well.
Made my heart begin to swell.
" All within my soul was praise.
Praise increasing all my days ;
Praise which could not silent be :
Floods were struggling to be free.
"More and more the waters grew,
Open wide the flood-gates flew,
Leaping forth in streams of song
Flowed my happy life along.
"Lo! a river clear and sweet
Laved my glad, obedient feet I
Soon it rose up to my knees.
And I praised and prayed with ease.
"Now my soul in praises swims,
Bathes in songs, and psalms, and hymns;
Plunges down into the deeps.
All lier powers in worship steeps.
" Hallelujah ! O my Lord,
Torrents from my soul are poured !
I am carried clean away,
Praising, praising all the day.
" In an ocean of delight.
Praising God with all my might,
Self is drowned. So let it be :
Only Christ remains to me.''
314 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
The hymn was written in the early part of the year 1890, and was inserted
in the programme used at the next College Conference. Those who were present,
on that occasion, are not likely to forget the thrilling effect produced when the five
hundred ministers and students joined in singing it to the tune "Nottingham." At
the commencement, all sat and sang ; but as they came to the later verses, they .
spontaneously rose, the time was quickened, and Mr. Manton Smith's cornet helped
to swell the volume of praise expressed by the writer.
The next literary work was one of the smallest of Mr. Spurgeon's many
volumes, yet its history and associations place it among the most notable of his
publications. At the College Conference, in 1891, the Presidential Address struck
all who heard it as being a peculiarly timely and weighty utterance ; and some who
listened to it, and to the sermon which followed it, three days later, afterwards said
that they had a kind of premonitory conviction that their beloved President would
never again meet the members and associates of the Pastors' College Evangelical
Association in conference on earth ; and so it proved to be.
On the Monday evening of that memorable week, at the public meeting in
Upton Chapel, Mr. Spurgeon took, as the subject of his address, Ephesians vi. 16 :
" Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the
fiery darts of the wicked." This proved to be the prelude and preparation for the
martial topic on which he intended to speak the next morning, and which he
summarized under three heads, (i) our annoury, the Word of God ; {2) our army,
the Church of God ; and (3) our strength, the Holy Spirit. It was a fitting climax
to the long series of Inaugural Addresses, which were always reckoned, by those who
were privileged to hear them, as the most solemn and forceful of all Mr. Spurgeon's
utterances. It was rapturously received by the crowded and enthusiastic assembly ;
and, at its close, such urgent requests were presented for its publication in pamphlet
form, that consent was at once given, on condition that the brethren would help to
make it known when it was issued.
During the week following the Conference, the reporter's transcript was revised,
considerable additions being made to the manuscript, and it was promptly published
under the title. The Greatest Fight in the World. It immediately attained a very
wide circulation ; it was reprinted in the United States, translated into French and
German, and passed through several large editions. Then, after Mr. Spurgeon's
home-going, a generous gentleman, who had been with him on the platform during
its delivery, felt that one of the best ways of honouring his memory was to
perpetuate his testimony, and therefore arranged that a copy of it, bearing the
additional title, " C. H. Spurgeon's Final Manifesto," should be sent, through Mrs.
Spurgeon's Book Fund, to every clergynian and minister of every denomination
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 315
in England. In this way, 34,500 more copies were circulated, with abundant
evidence that the Lord had owned and blessed the effort. While the present
volume has been in course of compilation, The Greatest Fight has been issued by
the publishers, in cloth covers, to make it uniform with the Pastor's other shilling
volumes, so its witness to the truth will still be continued, though several years
have elapsed since its soul-stirring message was first uttered.
Another small volume, which has very tender associations connected with it, is
Jlleiuories of Staiiibounie. It was commenced before Mr. Spurgeon's long illness
in 1 89 1, and it was completed during the time of partial restoration which was
graciously granted to him later in that year. The little book has a special interest
for readers of this work, for it was really the first portion of C. H. Spargcon s
Autobiography, telling the story of his childhood as he wished it to go forth to the
public, and for that reason it was largely used in the compilation of Vol. I. of his
Standard Lite. For several years, the Pastor visited Stambourne and its neigh-
bourhood, partly because of his early recollections of his grandfather's country, and
partly that he might gather up all available material concerning some of the
memorable scenes of his boyhood. On the last occasion, he took with him
Mr. T. H. Nash, who kindly photographed a number of views for reproduction in
the volume then being written. It was during that week that the " overpowering-
headache " came on, of which Mr. Spurgeon afterwards wrote, adding, "I had to
hurry home, to go up to that chamber wherein, for three months, I suffered beyond
measure, and was often between the jaws of death." In answer to the almost
universal prayer of believers in all lands, he was raised up for a time, and had the
satisfaction of seeing his little book of reminiscences not only finished and pub-
lished, but also widely welcomed and greatly enjoyed.
But there was another volume, in progress at the same time, which was
destined to have a still more pathetic interest attaching to it. That was The Gospel
of the Kingdom ; a Popular Exposition of the Gospel according to Mattheiu, con-
cerning which Mrs. Spurgeon wrote, after her beloved's promotion to glory: — "It
stands alone in its sacred and sorrowful significance. It is the tired worker's final
labour of love for his Lord. It is the last sweet song from lips that were eA-er
sounding forth the praises of his King. It is the dying shout of victory from the
standard-bearer, who bore his Captain's colours unflinchingly through the thickest
of the fight. . . . Much of the later portion of the work was written on the very
borderland of Heaven, amid the nearing glories of the unseen world, and almost
within sight of the Golden Gates."
Mr. Spurgeon's intention, in preparing the volume, was to produce a devotional
,i6
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Commentary, specially calling attention to the Kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ,
which is the prominent feature of the Gospel according to Matthew. He proceeded
with the work very leisurely, and a great part of it was written during his winter
sojourns on the sunny shores of the Mediterranean. The accompanying facsimile'^
of the first page of his manuscript will show the method he adopted, and he followed
the same plan as long as he was enabled to continue the congenial task.
'iL^.
cLjl-
/.../,■ ^
THE book of the ge-
neration of Jesus
Christ, the sou of Da-
vid, the son of Abra-
ham.
CL
2 Abraham begat I-
saac ; and Isaac begat
Jacob ; and Jacob be
gat Judas and his bre-
thren ;
Thamar ; and Phares
begat Esrom ; and Es-
rom begat Aram ;
^
3 And Judas begat li''^ OAx^^^ ^^ I 0^^..^^^^ >w-,^ i^ ^ /.; (uuii ft ^ aj2/. / ^v^^':^ c / ''^^^^
Phares and Zara of U^^^r^ , TC^ ^-^ v-^ -.^ ^ .MJ^.^ / a^^^^f^^ / j-€i^ ^/^-^ Ju ^^..^^ X<<-^
\
4 And Aram begat A-
minadab ; and Amin-
adab begat Naasson ;
and Naasson begat Sal
mon ;
5 And Salmon begat
Booz of Rachab ; and
Booz begat Obed of
Ruth ; and Obed be
gat Jesse ;
6. And Jesse begat
David the king ; and
David the king: begat
Solomon of her thai
had been the wife ov
Urias ; t/
7L.
f- %^^4. / / /._^ ^^^^^ /
1^ -^it. '■&~ /wS,"
tL^
, iu<^ziy: L<^ ^ 5 "^^/^•-^ u / ^^,4^-utx:3 (TLcJ^^ &.~JC^
-1, / A vi^yU^C^-^ru,
L^.'^^^/' ^^ /
'^r-u(C /«-6^L^v / — >„«,v^*./^~ L^^j-e^ /'^^^ i^'><'^rLcJci~^''~ *-<-<^ o6vT-? ^Lla. ^^n^^ rKJ^I' i.^^
FACSIMILE OF MR. SPURGEON's MANUSCRIPT OF "THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM."
Towards the latter part of 1891, when Mr. Spurgeon was sufficiently restored
* In the manuscript, Mr. Spurgeon made use of the following abbreviations : — / for the, t for that, o for of, h for have, w for
with, and shd for should.
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography. 317
to be able to travel to Mentone, he eagerly resumed his delighttul service of
expounding the first Gospel, and he wrote some portion of it, day by day, until
he was finally laid aside. To the last, his handwriting was as clear, and distinct.
and firm as ever, and there was no sign of the rapidly approaching collapse which
was to send such a thrill of sorrow through the whole of Christendom. Mentally
and spiritually, the work was equal to the best eftorts of his brightest years ;
but he was not permitted to finish it, for he was called up to see the King ot whoni
he had been writing, and to share in the glories of the Kingdom of which he had so
long been preaching to others.
After due consideration, it was resolved that, instead of leaving his last literary
work to stand like a broken column, it should be completed as nearly as possible
in the way he would himself have ended it had he been spared long enough.
He had so often expounded the closing chapters of Matthew's Gospel that there
was abundant material for the latter portion of his Commentary to be compiled
cntirclv from his otvn spoken and writteji words. This delicate duty was entrusted
to his private secretary. When the volume was issued, it met with a most hearty
reception, and it has continued in great favour ever since. The Editor of T/ic
British Weekly indirectly paid a high compliment to the compiler of the later
chapters when he said that there should have been some indication as to where
Mr. Spurgeon's manuscript ended. Evidently, "the worker in mosaics' had so
skilfully joined together the precious treasures committed to his charge that even
this keen critic could not discover any break in the connection.
Another literary work, upon which Mr. Spurgeon was busily occupied when the
home-call came to him at Mentone, was Messages to the Jllu/titude, the eighth
volume in "The Preachers of the Age" series, issued by Messrs. Sampson Low,
Marston, and Co. It was intended to set forth the style of the Pastor's preaching at
various periods of his long ministry ; and, to that end, the sermons selected ranged
from one delivered in the Surrey Gardens Music Hall, in 1859, to another, which was
almost the last preached in the Tabernacle, in 1891. The revision of the latter part
of this book also fell to Mr. Harralds share. Although ten out of the twelve
discourses contained in it had been previously published, the work has had a large
sale ; and, quite recently, a popular edidon of it has been produced, thereby still
further increasing its sphere of usefulness.
Many other volumes had been either commenced or planned by Mr. Spurgeon ;
and several of them have already been completed. , The first of these was The Art
of I /lustration, forming the third series of Lecttires to my Stndents, and containing
exceedingly valuable information concerning the use of illustrations in preaching,
3i«
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
and the books in which anecdotes, illustrations, fables, emblems, and parables are to
be found.
Next followed one of the choicest volumes in the whole of Mr. Spurgeon's
^orks, — " Till He Come." Coinniunion Meditations and Addresses. It consists
very largely of the quiet, homely talks of the Pastor to the little companies of
Christians who gathered with him around the table of the Lord in his sitting-room
at Mentone ; but it also includes some of his more public utterances when thousands
of believers met for communion in the Tabernacle. The value of the ordinance, and
the spiritual benefit to be derived from its frequent observance, are clearly set forth ;
and it seems impossible for any lover of the Lord to read the book without being
brouo-ht into still closer fellowship with the Saviour, and a deeper appreciation of
the great atoning sacrifice symbolized by the broken bread and the filled cup. The
volume has proved invaluable as an aid to private devotion, and as a guide to those
who are called to preside at the celebration of the sacred feast of love.
Another book, which Christian workers have found to be of great service to
them, is The Soiil-winner ; or, Hozv to Lead Sinners to the Savioiir. Containing
several lectures to the students of the Pastors' College, addresses to Sunday-school
teachers and open-air preachers, and sermons upon what Mr. Spurgeon termed
" that most royal employment, — soul-winning,' it must greatly help those w^ho
desire to become wise in winning souls, while it explains some of the secrets of the
author's own power as one of the greatest soul-winners who ever lived.
These posthumous works specially deserve mention in the present volume, for
all of them are largely autobiographical, and, here and there, extracts from them
have been given in previous pages where they appeared needful for the complete-
ness of the narrative. All of them have been extensively sold, and highly prized,
perhaps all the more because the voice that uttered so much of their contents is no
longer audible here below.
Beside the new works published since Mr. Spurgeon's home-going, there have
been already issued no less than eight different sets of his sermons : — The Parables
of our Lord ; The Miracles (two volumes) ; " The Most Holy Place" — (fifty-two
discourses on the Song of Solomon) ; — The Messiah, onr Lords Names, Titles, and
Attributes ; Christ in the Old Testament ; The Everlasting Gospel; and The
Gospel for the People. Ten smaller volumes contain shorter passages from his
writings, suitable for various classes of readers : — Teachings of Natiire in the
Kingdom of Grace, Words of Wisdom, Words of Warning, and Words of Cheer for
C. II. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 319
Daily Life, Words of Counsel for Christimt Workers, Words of Advice for Seekers,
" ]]'e Endeavour,'' '' Come, ye Children,'' Gospel Extracts from C H. Spnrgeon, and
Glorious Themes for Saints and Sinners. The last-named book is printed in very
large type so as to adapt it to old people and little children. Although it has been
only recently issued, it has already found much favour, and is likely to be
exceedingly useful in making known the essentials of the faith in the simplest
and plainest language.
It is impossible to estimate the total number of volumes of Mr. Spurgeon's
works that have been issued in this country, in the United States, and in many other
lands in which they have been translated into foreign languages. Many millions of
copies must already have been sold ; and, although it is now eight years since
he was " called home," there is, apparendy, no diminution in the demand for them.
Indeed, the many new works from his lips and pen published since his promotion to
higher service, the still larger number of reprints or extracts from his writings, and
the ever-increasing circulation of his sermons, make it almost certain that his
publications are distributed even more widely now than they were during his life-
time on earth, while testimony to their usefulness is constanUy being received trom
all quarters of the globe. It may, therefore, be concluded that, great as was his
influence in the pulpit, his power through the press is not a whit less ; and there
seems to be no valid reason why his testimony to the truth should not be continued,
by means of the printed page, until the Lord Himself returns.
CHAPTER cm.
€l)t (groWij of tijt fastitutions, 1878—1892.
College, Orphanage, Colportage Association, and Society of Evangelists, might any one of
them be regarded as works of Christian inventiveness, but it would be by far the smaller half of
the truth to look at them from that point of view. These enterprises have succeeded each other,
by a natural rule and order of Providence, as inevitably as the links of a chain follow one another.
We have heard kind friends speak of "genius for organization" and "great practical common sense"
as abiding in the leader of these various works for the Lord; but, indeed, it would be far nearer
the truth to say that he followed with implicit, and almost blind, confidence what he took to be
the intimations of the Divine will, and hitherto these intimations have proved to be what he
thought them. At the close of twenty-five years, we see a vast machinery in vigorous operation,
in better working condition than ever it was ; and, as to means and funds, perfectly equipped,
although it has no other resources than the promise, " My God shall supply all your need, according
to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Gratitude bows her head, and sings her own song to her
Well-beloved, to whom it belongs.— C. H. S., in Preface to " The Sword and the Trowel" volume for 1878.
HE last fourteen years of Mr. Spurgeon's earthly life proved to be a
very prolific period both for the Tabernacle Church and the various
Institutions connected with it. Towards the close of his address,
at the meeting- held in the Tabernacle, on May 20, 1879, in
connection with the celebration of his pastoral silver wedding, he
said : —
" Let us go forward, brethren, let us go forward. We have made a very fair
beginning, in God's strength, and to Him be the honour of it; but I regard to-nieht
not as the goal, but as the starting-place. We have truly laid underground
foundations of a structure which now we trust will rise into open day. Here is one
point for a new departure. Listen and consider it. A day or two ago, the lady who
founded the Boys' Orphanage sent me ^50 for the Girls' Orphanage. I wrote to
her somewhat to this effect : — ' I am very grateful for the proposal ; but I am not
very well, and the times are not very hopeful, so I had rather not begin any new work
just yet.' I proposed to keep the ^50 in case we did build an Orphanage for girls ;
and if not, to hand it over to the boys. ' No,' said our friend, ' you are right in your
judgment, but take the ^50 as the first brick, for I am fully assured that many more
bricks will shortly be added.' Now I propose that ^50 of the testimonial should be
placed with my dear friend's ^50 that we may found the Girls' Orphanage together.
I do not mean to press this new enterprise just now ; but only to moot it, and see
whereunto this thing will grow. Other eggs will come to the nest-egg, and the nest
will become full, and then we shall have another family of little chicks. I feel as
though I was laying the first stone of the Girls' Orphanage, and you were all saying,
w 4
322 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAril\ .
' Go ahead.' This is a good note for our present page of history,- — ' second twenty-
five years of pastorate commenced by the inauguration of project for Girls'
Orphanage.' 'What next?' says somebody. I cannot tell you what I may suggest
to you next ; but, you see, I am driven to this Girls' Orphanage. I have this ^50
forced upon me, and I cannot get rid of it ; would you have me refuse to use this
money for poor fatherless girls ? No, your hearts would not so counsel me.
Thus, of my own free will, compelled by constraining grace, I accept a further
charge, and look to see prayer and faith open a new chapter of marvels."
One friend, who heard the Pastor's speech, at once gave him ^50 for the
new project, and other contributions speedily followed. Shortly afterwards,.
Mr. Spurgeon wrote: — "At the very time at which we began to move in this,
matter, it pleased God. in His providence, to put within our reach the house
' THE HAWTHORNS," CLAPHAM ROAD.
and grounds known as 'The Hawthorns,' at which we had looked wistfully for
a long while. A few years ago, this house was to be sold, and the Trustees
of the Boys' Orphanage attempted to purchase it at the auction ; but the price
was run up to several hundreds of pounds beyond its value. On June 6, this
house was again offered for sale, and we bought it for the exact sum which
C. H. SPURGEONS AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 323
we had proposed to give on the former occasion. There is only one paddock
between its garden and the Orphanage grounds ; and, by the goodness of God, and
the kindness of its owner, we hope that this meadow also may one day become ours ;
we should then be able to make the Orphanage into a complete square by erecting
similar buildings to those which are there already. This must be a work of time,
but it is something to have a place whereon to put our fulcrum, and apply our lever.
We believe that the Lord has led us forth by a right way, that we might go to a
city of habitation. We have purchased the house and grounds for the Girls'
Orphanage, but we have only about .;^36o in hand with which to pay for it ;
and we are specially desirous that, when the time shall come for the absolute
payment of the entire sum, we may be able to count out the whole ^4,000. That
time will be here in a few days, but time is not an object with the Possessor of
Heaven and earth. We have never been in debt yet, nor have we had a mortgage
upon any of our buildings, nor have we even borrowed money for a time, but we
have always been able to pay as we have gone on. Our prayer is, that we may
never have to come down to a lower platform, and commence borrowing. If this
land had not been put up to auction there and then, we should have waited until we
had received the purchase-price from our great Master's stewards ; but, as the site
was so extremely desirable, and as the purchase had to be made at once or not at
all, we thought it wise to secure it. We cannot think that we erred in this decision.
None of our beloved counsellors and fellow-helpers think so, but one and all advised
the step. The money for the payment must come from «somewhere, and the
questions now to be answered are, — Where is the money ? Who has charge of it at
present ? Who feels called upon to send it ? The silver and the gold are the
Lord's, and He has but to incline His servants to apportion some of their Master's
money to this particular work, and the thing will be done. I.f they can do better
with their substance, by all means let them do so ; but if they count us faithful, we
are prepared to accept this further trust, and do our best with it.
"It has often happened that we have been unable to assist widows in
necessitous circumstances, with large families, because there did not happen to be
a boy of the special age required by the rules of our Boys' Orphanage. There were
several girls, but then we could not take them ; and, however urgent the case,
we have been unable to relieve very deserving mothers, simply because their
children were not boys. This is one reason why we need a Girls' Orphanage.
" Here is a grand opportunity for Christian people with means to take their
places among the founders of this new Institution; and if they Judge that such
a work will be good and useful, we hope they will, without fail_, and tvithout delay,
come to our assistance in this fresh branch of service. We cannot afford to lose
a single penny from the funds for the boys, but this work for the girls must be
324 C. ir. SPURGEONS AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
something extra and above. You helped WiUy and Tommy ; will you not help
Mary and Maggie ? "
The scheme quickly secured the sympathy of the Christian public ; the money
for the purchase of " The Hawthorns " was ready by the date on which it was
required, and the first family of girls was soon installed there. It was found that
the trust-deed of the Orphanage provided for the reception of fatherless children,
without specifying either sex, so no alteration was needed in it ; and arrangements
for the completion of the Institution were made in due time. The Pastor and his
publishers and the Trustees nobly led the way with generous gifts, many thousands
of donors followed their example, and thus, block by block, the Orphanage gradually
attained the appearance depicted in the bird's-eye view on page 320.
It is not possible to tell all the blessing that the Orphanage has already been
to hundreds of bereaved families ; and its beneficent infiuence is still continued.
Up to the time of Mr. Spurgeon's home-going, nearly sixteen hundred boys and
girls had been sheltered within its walls. They have often expressed their gratitude
for all that has been done for them in the Institution ; and many of them have,
at various times, given practical proofs of their interest in the happy home into
which they were received in the hour of their helpless orphanhood. One instance
of this is described in the following letter, the receipt of which gave great joy to
the President : — '
" Stockwell Orphanage,
" Clapham Road,
" London, S.W.,
"Feb. 14th, 1888.
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" In closing the list, to-day, for March SivoJ'd and Troivcl, you will, 1
am sure, be pleased to know that it contains donations trom 'some of the old boys'
(about forty), to the amount of /17 . 17.0. Every one, in forwarding his sub-
scription, wishes it were ten times or a hundred times as much ; and it is
accompanied with every expression of gratitude for the benefits received at the
Stockwell Orphanage, and of warmest love to yourself,— the earthly father to this
large orphan family ; and they all pray that our Heavenly Father may spare you,,
for many, many years, to lead and direct this, blessed work of caring for the widow
and the fatherless.
" I am,
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" Ever yours sincerely,
" F. G. Ladds."
C. H. sturgeon's AUTOBIOGRArHV. ,125
A letter from one of the girls, after she had left the Orphanage, will show that
there was equal gratitude on that side of the Institution : —
" Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
"You must excuse the liberty I am taking in writing to you; but you
will not mind when you know the reason. 1 must, first of all, tell you that I am one
of your old orphan girls; but the Lord having found me, and made me His child,
before I left the Orphanage, I knew it would cheer your heart if I wrote and told
you. I thought, when my father died, I could never have another to equal him ; but
when I came to your Orphanage, I discovered my mistake, for I found a better and
truer Father, who will never leave me nor forsake me, and to whom I can take my
every trouble, however small it may be. It seems almost too good to be true that
Jesus was really crucified to save me. When I think of all the years I grieved and
pained Him, it only makes me want to try and please Him ever so much more for
the future.
" I must tell you that I was in the Orphanage seven and a-half years, and
was very happy indeed, and wish myself back again. Now I think I must close,
thanking you for your kindness in giving us such a beautiful home to live in. It
will always be something to look back on with pleasure for the rest of our lives, and
for which we can never thank you enough. I myself hope shortly to come forward,
and, by baptism, publicly let the world know that I have accepted Jesus as my
Saviour; or, rather, I should say, that He lias accepted me as His child.
" I remain,
" One of your old orphan girts,
On a memorable afternoon, in the autumn of 1890, Mr. Spurgeon paid a visit
to the Orphanage under circumstances which are not likely to be forgotten by any
who were then present. Almost immediately afterwards, he wrote the following
account of the " happy scene in a storm," which may fitly conclude the references to
the Orphanage in his Standard Life, for it shows how, right to the last, he sought
the spiritual welfare of the children, which had been the principal aim both of
Mrs. Hillyard and himself in founding the Institution : —
" I went to the Stockwell Orphanage, on Tuesday, September 23, to walk
round with an artist, and select bits for his pencil, to be inserted in a Christmas
book for the Institution. We had not gone many yards before it began to rain.
Umbrellas were forthcoming, and we tried to continue our perambulation of the
whole square of the boys' and girls' houses ; but the rain persisted in descending,
and speedily increased into a downpour. Nothing short of being amphibious would
326
H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
have enabled us to face the torrent. There was no other course but to turn into the
play-hall, where the boys gave tremendous cheers at our advent, — cheers almost as
THE boys' play-hall, STOCKWELL ORPHANAGE.
deafening as the thunder which responded to them. Go out we could not, for the
shower was swollen into a deluge, so I resolved to turn the season to account. A
chair was forthcoming, and there I sat, the centre of a dense throng of juvenile
humanity, which could scarcely be kept off from a nearness which showed the
warmth of their reception of their friend. Our artist, who, standing in the throng,
made a hurried sketch, could not be afforded space enough to put in the hundreds
of boys.
" It was certainly a melting moment as to heat, and fresh air was not abundant ;
but anything was better than the storm outside. Flash after flash made everybody
feel sober, and prompted me to talk with the boys about that freedom from fear
which comes through faith in the Lord Jesus. The story was told of a very young
believer,''* who was in his uncle's house, one night, during a tremendous tempest.
The older folk were all afraid ; but he had really trusted himself with the Lord
Jesus, and he did not dare to fear. The baby was upstairs, and nobody was brave
*" This was, of course , Mr. Spurgeon himself when he was a lad.
H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
;27
enough to fetch it down because of a big window on the stairs. This lad went up to
the bedroom, brought the baby to its mother, and then read a Psalm, and prayed
with his relatives, who were trembling with fear. There was real danger, for a stack
was set on fire a short distance away ; but the youth was as calm as on a summer's
day of sunshine not because he was naturally brave, but because he truly trusted in
the Lord.
1,1
-
1 ;-
C. H. SPURGEON AND A GROUP OF ORPHAN BOYS.
"While I was thus speaking, the darkness increased, and the storm overhead
seemed brooding over us with black wings. It was growing dark before its hour.
Most appropriately, one of the boys suggested a verse, which all sang sweetly and
reverently, —
" ' Abide with me ! fast falls the eventide ;
The darkness deepens ; Lord, with me abide !
When other helpers fail, and comforts fie
Help of the helpless, O abide with me ! ' ....
" This ended, there followed a word about the ground of the believer's trust :
he was forgiven, and therefore dreaded no condemnation ; he was in his Heavenly
Father's hand, and therefore feared no evil. If we were at enmity against God, and
had all our sins resting upon our guilty heads, we might be afraid to die ; yes, and
even afraid to live; but, when reconciled to Him bv the death of His Son, we said
328 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
farewell to fear. With God against us, we are iii a state of war ; but with God for
us, we dwell in perfect peace. Here came flashes of lightning and peals of thunder
which might well make us start ; but no one was afraid. It is true we all felt awed,
but we were restful, and somehow there was a quiet but general cry for 'perfect
peace.' On enquiring what this meant, I was answered by all the bovs singino-
right joyfully, —
" ' Like a river glorious is God's perfect peace,
Over all victorious in its bright increase,
Perfect, yet it floweth fuller every day ;
Perfect, yet it groweth deeper all the way.
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest,
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.
" ' Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand.
Never foe can follow, never traitor stand ;
» Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care.
Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there.
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest.
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.
" This sung, we covered our faces reverently, and the boys were very silent,
while I lifted up my voice in prayer. Then we opened our eyes again, and it was
very dark, as if night had come before its time. While the flames of fire leaped in
through the windows and skylights, the noise of the rain upon the roof and the
tremendous thunder scarcely permitted me to say much upon Jesus as being our
peace, through His bearing our sins in His own body on the tree. Yet, as well as
I could, I set forth the cross of Christ as the place of peace-making, peace-speaking,
and peace-finding, both for boys and men ; and then we all sang, to the accom.pani-
ment of the storm-music, —
" ' How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds
In a believer's ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.'
" Never did the power of that Name to drive away fear appear more sweetly.
'J'o me, the words came with a soothino- cheerino- force, which filled me with
intense delight ; so we very joyfully and peacefully sang the third verse, —
" ' Dear Name ! the rock on which I build.
My shield and hiding-place ;
My never-failing treasury, fill'd
With boundless stores of grace.'
"Just as we came to 'my Shield and hiding-place,' there was a peculiarly blue
flash, with a sort of rifle-crack, as if something very close to us had been struck.
The boys looked at one another, but went on, in subdued tones, singing ot the
'boundless stores of orrace.' Teachers and others were mixed with the little army
of boys, but we were all welded together in common emotion. I then reminded
them that, to such a Protector, we must give our heart's love. It was a duty
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPIIV. 329
to love one so good as the Lord Jesus, but even more a delicdit to do so, since
He gave Himself for us, and, by bearing our punishment, delivered us from all
harm. As if by instinct, someone led off —
" ' My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign ;
My gracious Redeemer, my Saviour art Thou,
If ever 1 loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.'
" Here "was a good opening to press home the question, — 'Is this true of each one
of you ? The great desire of all who conduct the Orphanage is to lead you t<3
take Jesus for your gracious Redeemer, that so you may love Him. Oh, that
you loved Him nozu / It may be that, if you leave us unsaved, the Lord will
yet bring you in ; but it would be far better that you should go out from us
ready for the battle of life, and covered with a holy armour, so that you might
not be wounded by the arrows of sin.' Then I picked out Mr. May, who is
employed at the Orphanage, and bade him tell the boys about himself. May
was a boy with us at the Orphanage, — a restless spirit, so he went to sea ; and,
after many hardships and adventures, he was converted to God at Malta, and then
came back to us, and we found him a post at his own school. As the lads knew
the most of his story. May did not say very much ; and what he did say was
rather overborne by the rain on the roof, which sounded like ten thousand drums.
The thunder added its trumpet voice, and only allowed us pauses of silence. I
went on with the talk till there came a burst of thunder loud and long. I stopped,
and bade the children listen to the voice of the Lord. We all hearkened to it with
awe and wonder. Then I reminded them of Psalm .xxix : ' The voice of the Lord
is powerful ; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord
breaketh the cedars ; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. The Lord
sitteth upon the flood ; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever.' I told them how often
1 had sung to myself Dr. Watts's verses, —
"'The God that rules on high,
And thunders when He please,
That rides upon the stormy sky,
And manages the seas ;
" ' This awful God is ours.
Our Father and our love ;
lie shall send down His heavenly powers
To carry us above.
"'There shall we see His face,
And never, never sin ;
There from the rivers of His grace,
Drink endless pleasures in.'
"As they did not know the old-fashioned tune ' Falcon Street,' to which I had been
33*^ c. H. spuhgeon's autobiography. '
wont to sing the words, we kept quiet till, suddenly, there came another roll of
drums in the march of the God of armies ; and then, as an act of worship, we
adoringly sang together, with full force, the words of the Doxology, —
" ' Praise God, from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below,
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.'
" This was a grand climax. The heavens themselves seemed to think so, for there
were no more thunder-claps of such tremendous force. I need not write more.
The storm abated. I hurried off to see enquirers at the Tabernacle, but not till
one and another had said to me, 'The boys will never forget this. It will abide
with them throughout eternity.' So be it, for Christ's sake ! Amen."
Like the Orphanage, the Pastors' College made great advances during the
fourteen years from 1878 to 1892. Up to the time of the President's home-going,
nearly nine hundred brethren had been educated in the Institution, of whom a large
number had gone to the foreign mission field or to other distant spheres of service.
The statistical account for the year 189 1-2 showed that, in the churches under the
charge of the ministers -who furnished the figures for that Annual Report, — and it
was never possible to get returns from anything like all of them, — nearly 100,000
persons had been baptized -since the year 1865, when the statistics were first
collected ; and, after making all deductions, there had been a clear increase of
80,000 members. Truly, if Mr. Spurgeon had done nothing beyond founding and
carrying on the Pastors' College, it would have been a noble life-work ; yet that was
only one of his many forms of labour for the Lord.
The four tutors, whose portraits appear on the opposite page, were in charge
of the College classes during the greater part of Mr. Spurgeon's presidency.
" Father Rogers," who was spared to see his first student succeeded by more
than eight hundred others, continued to hold the office of Principal until 1881,
and he afterwards rendered occasional help at the College until 18S4, when he
finally retired. Then, after spending seven restful years in his peaceful home
at South Norwood, at the ripe age of ninety-two, he entered the glory-land only
about four months before the Pastor and President with whom he had been so
long and so happily associated in the important work of training men for the
Christian ministry. Professor Gracey was appointed Principal in 1881, and he
faithfully discharged the duties of that responsible posidon until he also was
"called home" just a year after Mr. Spurgeon. Professor Fergusson remained
at his post until the end of 1891, when increasing infirmities necessitated hi;^
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
332
o
o
H
7i^2 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPIl V.
retirement ; and he is now (in 1899,) the sole survivor of the early tutorial staff of
the College. Professor Marchant, who had himself been a Pastors' College student,
became one of the tutors in 1881 ; he continued in that post until 1898, and only
a few months more elapsed before he also received the home-call, just a week
or two after the sudden summons reached Pastor J. A. Spurgeon, the former
Vice-President, and afterwards the President of the Institution.
One of the most important events in the latejr history of the College was
the formation, in 1888, of the Pastors' College Evangelical Association. This
was one of the direct results of the "Down-grade" Controversy. When Mr.
Spurgeon found how many of his own former students had accepted various forms
of modern-thought teaching, he felt compelled to withdraw from further fellowship
with them in the annual Conferences, at which they were practically his guests
for the week. The only method of attaining that end, so far as he could see, was
to reorganize the Association, and to define more clearly the doctrinal basis, which
had been in existence from its commencement, although there had been no need
to call attention to it while all had been heartily united in the " one faith " as well
as the "one Lord" and the "one baptism." It was a great grief to the President
that some brethren, who were firmly attached to Evangelical doctrine, remained
outside the new fraternal band ; but the gap in the ranks, which was caused by
their absence, was quickly filled by an equal number of ministers, who, though
not trained in the Pastors' College, were in heart and soul one with Mr. Spurgeon,
especially in his great protest against error and worldliness in the Church. A
special clause was inserted in the constitution of the reorganized fraternity by which
they were admitted, as associates, to share the privileges enjoyed by the members.
Two of these brethren— Pastors Hugh D. Brown and R. Shindler — are in the group
reproduced on the opposite page from a photograph, taken at the Orphanage,
on the Tuesday afternoon of the Conference week in 1888. The artist desired
to secure a portrait of the beloved leader who had, that morning, been unanimously
and enthusiastically elected "Perpetual President of the Pastors' College Evangelical
Association," although he always insisted upon the observance of what all regarded,
in his case, as the pure formality of an annual election, for he foresaw that a time
might come when that right would have to be exercised in real earnest, — and
all too soon it happened as he had prophesied He was in one of his happiest
moods, that afternoon, and he called to him seven brethren who were near him
at the time, and then told the photographer to take them all. This he did, with the
most satisfactory result, as the illustration clearly shows.
The chapter on "Jubilee Joys" contains a reference to Mr. Spurgeon's
C. II. SrURGEON's AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
C. E. SAWDAY. R. SHINDLER. HUGH D. BROWN.
FRANK H. WHITE. W. J. MAYERS. T. W. MEDHURST.
C. H. Spurgeon and Ministers at College Conference, iS88.
334 ' C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPIIV.
objections to an endowment for his College ; but he was, in a very singular way.
and quite unintentionally, the means of providing a large portion of the funds
for its maintenance for several years after he had been " called home." The
story greatly amused him when he heard it related ; it was to this effect. The
conductor of an omnibus, while waiting on the City side of London Bridge,
endeavoured to attract passengers by shouting" out, " Over the water to Charlie ! "
A gentleman enquired what he meant by this unusual cry, and he explained that
the 'bus was going over the Thames, and past the Tabernacle, where C. H. Spurgeon
was announced to preach. It happened that the stranger had never heard the
Pastor ; indeed, as the tale is told, it appears that he was not in the habit of
attending any place of worship ; but he went on that occasion, and for the rest
of his life he was a diligent reader of the printed sermons, and when he made
his will, he bequeathed a very large sum to Mr. Spurgeon for the Pastors' College
and for building chapels for the ministry of brethren trained in that Institution.
The Law of Mortmain prevented the carrying out of the latter part of his bequest,
and a long Chancery suit reduced the residue which he intended for the College ;
but several thousands of pounds were received from his estate by the Trustees,
who were thus enabled to continue the President's important work of preparing
preachers of the Word for home and foreign service.
An important outgrowth from " Mr. Spurgeon's First Institution " was the
Pastors' College Society of Evangelists. The students, from the very beginning,
had been noted both for the Evangelical doctrines which they held in common
with their beloved President, and for the evangelistic fervour with which they
proclaimed those truths. Many of them possessed the qualifications for the offices
of pastor and evangelist to a very remarkable degree, and contemporary records
abundantly prove how greatly the Church of 'Christ in general, and the Baptist
denomination in particular, have been strengthened and increased through the
labours of "our own men" in London, throughout the British Islands, on the
Continent of Europe, in the United States, in most if not all of our numerous
Colonies, and in the great mission field at large.
Still, Mr. Spurgeon long felt the need of a number of brethren, specially called
and fitted to ''do the work of an evangelist ; " and it was a great joy to him as, one
alter another, suitable men came forward, and offered themselves for the service on
which his heart had been set. Mr. W. Higgins, now pastor at VVymondham,
Norfolk, was the pioneer of this new movement ; to which a great impetus was
given by the appointment of Messrs. A. J. Clarke and J. Manton Smith. Then,
when the temporary failure of Mr. Clarke's health made it advisable for him to
accept an invitation to Australia, Mr. VV. Y. Fullerton took his place, and so
C. II. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPIIV. 335
commenced that happy partnership in labour for the Lord which has made the
names of " C. H. Spurgeon's evangehsts, Fullerton and Smith," famihar as household
words in tens of thousands of homes in various parts of the United Kingdom.
Other College brethren, who have been more or less closely connected with the
Society of Evangelists, are Messrs. J. Burnham, E. A. Carter, A. A. Harmer,
J. S. Harrison, J. T. Mateer, and F. Russell. The "little band of brothers"
entirely set apart for evangelistic work has been decreased by Messrs. Fullerton,
Harmer, and Russell's acceptance of pastorates ; but some compensation for their
loss has resulted from Mr. Carter's generous aid and self-sacrificing devotion to the
Pioneer Mission, by which the number of earnest evangelists, seeking to serve the
Saviour, has been largely augmented. It should also be mentioned that, long before
the College Society of Evangelists was organized, there had existed two large
and useful companies of so-called "lay" brethren, — the Tabernacle Evangelists'
Association and Country Mission, — under the leadership of devoted elders of the
Tabernacle Church. Many of the students first began to speak for the Lord in
connection with one or other of these useful agencies ; and, during their College
career, they continued, by this means, helping in the evangelization of the
metropolis, and its suburbs, and the towns and villages in the adjacent counties.
The total result of these many forms of Christian service, only eternity can reveal ;
but it is already known that, through their instrumentality, multitudes of sinners
have been led to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and many new
churches have been formed, which are now self-supporting, and, in their turn,
are centres of evangelistic effort in " the regions beyond." To God be all
the glory.
One other useful branch of the College work, in which Mr. Spurgeon greatly
rejoiced, was the Pastors' College Missionary Association. Without any kind of
antagonism to existing organizations, when sufficient sums were placed at his
disposal, he guaranteed the necessary amount for the support of Mr. Patrick and
Dr. Churcher in North Africa ; and, through the same agency, contributed toward
the maintenance of Messrs. Blamire and Wigstone in Spain. He hoped that the
way might have been opened for sending out large numbers of missionaries to
various lands that are still destitute of gospel light ; but, as the means for carrying
out this purpose did not reach him, he was glad that so many of his students were
enabled to go, under the auspices of the Baptist Missionary Society, the American
Baptist Missionary Union, or the China Inland Mission, to the different portions
of the foreign field to which they believed themselves to be called of God. They
also have done and are doing a work which "the day shall declare."
2,^6 C. H. SrURGEON's AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Not much need be added to the account of the Colportage Association given
in the previous volume. In the last year of Mr. Spurgeon's life, 96 colporteurs
were employed, — a larger number than in any previous part of the history of the
work; and their sales amounted to ^11,255 os. 6d., — a higher total than they had
ever before reached. During 1891, they had sold nearly 20,000 Bibles and
Testaments, and more -than a quarter of a million of Scripture texts and cards.
The total of their sales, from the commencement of the Association to the close
of 1 89 1, was ^153,784 3s. 6d. ; and, during that quarter of a century, they had
recorded 11,822,637 visits to families. It is impossible to tabulate the blessing
that these earnest Christian workers have taken into the homes of the people,
or that they have been the means of conveying by the services, Sunday-schools,
missions, and temperance meetings which they are continually conducting ; for,
happily, this work is still being carried on, though with a smaller number of agents,
and with even greater anxieties as to finances than Mr. Spurgeon experienced. It
was always a marvel to him that the Lord's stewards did not more quickly realize
the value of the colporteurs' labours, and more generously aid this Protestant,
Evangelical, Home Mission service.
During the period that these various Institutions were growing and flourishing,
the Tabernacle Church, the foster-mother of them all, was prospering beyond all
precedent. At the time of Mr. Spurgeon's home-call, the number of members on
the church-roll was 5,311; and, during his long pastorate, no less than 14,691
persons were received into fellowship. At the end of 1891, there were 22 mission
stations, and 27 Sunday and Ragged Schools, with 612 teachers, 8,034 scholars,
and accommodation for 3,840 worshippers in the various halls used for public
services. Comparing this great host with the little company of anxious but praying
people to whom "the boy-preacher" delivered his first discourse, in New Park
Street Chapel, on that historic morning, in De-cember, 1853, one can only say, as
he said, times without number, when speaking of the blessing which the Lord had
graciously vouchsafed to his ministry, —
"What hath God wrought!"
CHAPTER CIV
fHB last letters from iHetttoite,
By Mrs. C. H. Spurge
EON.
^,U.^p VT
-^-f-Cr^ <^-c /-<■ ^:.
;/ ., i.~e^y J^-^ —
i^-t^^C^
/■t/e«,.A>»- a oa^ -ii Oa
■j^,^^ ->v^^ ^<:^c^ ^ ^•_:<ryk.^^ ^j-^^^
^^^ /;C_ o..^ . ^c..___^ . ■^ V —
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«-' " '•-'-^ ^C:!^ e_-^,^J 'QJC'
^ .....^ -^^ ^yU f)
FACSIMILES OF POST CARDS FROM ME.N'TONE.
'HE love-letters of twenty blessed years have been reluctantly lifted
from their hiding-place, and re-read with unspeakable love and
sorrow. They are full of brightness, and the fragrance of a deep
and abiding affection ; and filled with e\'ery detail concerning- my
beloved and his doings which could be precious to the heart of a
loving wife. But, alas ! each year, some part of the holiday time at
Mentone was overshadowed by what appeared to be an inevitable illness, when the
X4
338 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
dear preacher was laid aside, and days and nights of wearisome pain were appointed
to him. He had always worked up to the latest moment, and to the utmost point of
endurance, so it was not surprising that, when the tension was relaxed, nature
revenged herself upon the weary body by setting every nerve on fire, and loading
every vein with gout-poison, to act as fuel to the consuming flame. " I ieel as it I
were emerging from a volcano," he wrote, at the beginning of a convalescent period ;
and even at such a time his sense of humour asserted itself, for his pen had sketched
the outlines of a conical hill, out of the crater of which his head and shoulders were
slowly rising, while the still-imprisoned lower limbs set forth the sad truth that all
was not yet well with them.
These chronicles would scarcely be complete without some further particulars
concerning his life on the Riviera, — how he enjoyed his pleasures, how he bore his
pains, how he worked when God gave him relief from sickness, and how, always and
ever, his loving heart was "at home" with me. He kept up a daily correspondence
with unflagging regularity : and when unable to use his • pen, through severe
suffering or weakness, the letter came as usual, either dictated by him, or altogether
written by his devoted secretary.
I have selected, as the material for this chapter, the last letters which were
written to me from Mentone, and which cover a period of nearly three months,
for he left London on November 11, 1890, and returned February 5, 1891. The
next time he visited the place he loved so well, God gratified his longing, —
cherished for years, — to have me with him ; but, alas ! " I went out full, and
the Lord brought me home again empty ; " for, after enjoying three months of
exceeding sweetness, I unexpectedly found that I had gone to Mentone to see
my beloved die !
Passing over the days of travel, which had no special interest, the arrival at
Mentone is thus recorded on a post c^d ; — " What heavenly sunshine ! This is like
another world. I cannot quite believe myself to be on the same planet. God
grant that this may set me all right ! Only three other visitors in the hotel, — three
American ladies, — room for you. So far, we have had royal weather, all but the
Tuesday. Now the sea shines like a mirror before us. The palms in front of the
windows are as still as in the Jubilee above. The air is warm, soft, balmy. We are
idle^ — writing, reading, dawdling. Mentone is the same as ever, but it has abolished
its own time, and goes by Paris."
This bright opening of the holiday was quickly overclouded, for the next day-
came the sad news that gout had fastened upon the poor patient's right hand and
c. H. sturgeon's autobiograppiy. 339
arm, and caused him weary pain. Yet he wrote: — "The day is hke one in Eden
before our first parents fell. When my head is better, I shall enjoy it. I have
eaii de Cologne dripped on to my hot brain-box ; and, as, I have nothing to do but
to look out on the perfect scene before me, my case is not a bad one." But, alas !
the "case" proved to be very serious, and a painful time followed. These sudden
attacks of the virulent enemy were greatly distressing and discouraging ; one day,
Mr. Spurgeon would be in apparent health and good spirits ; and the next, his
hand, or foot, or knee, would be swollen and infiamed, gout would have developed,
and all the attendant evils of fever, unrest, sleeplessness, and acute suffering, would
manifest themselves with more or less severity.
In the present instance, the battle raged for eight days with much fury, and
then God gave victory to the anxious combatants, and partial deliverance to the
poor prisoner. My daily letters, written by Mr. Harrald, during this period, were
very tender records of the sick-room experiences, — every detail told, and every
possible consolation offered ; — but it was a weary season of suspense for the lo\ing
heart a thousand miles distant, and the trial of absence was multiplied tenfold by the
distress of anxiety.
In the first letter Mr. H. wrote, he said : — "The one continual cry from Mr,
Spurgeon is, 'I wish I were at home! I must get home!' Just to pacify him, I
have promised to enquire about the through trains to London ; but, of course, it
would be impossible for him to travel in his present condition. Everyone is very
kind, sympathetic, attentive, and ready to do anything that can be done to relieve or
cheer the dear sufferer. I have just asked what message he wishes to send to you.
He says, 'Give her my love, and say I am very bad, and I wish I were at home for
her to nurse me ; but, as I am not, I shall be helped through somehow.' "
Curiously enough. The Times of the following day had a paragraph to the
effect that "Mr. Spurgeon will stay at Mentone till February;" and when Mr.
Harrald read this aloud, the dear patient remarked, " 1 have not said so, but I am
afraid I shall have to do it ; " and the prophecy was fulfilled.
After eight days and nights of alternate progress and drawback, there came to
me a half-sheet of paper, covered with extraordinary hieroglyphic characters, at first
sight almost unreadable. But love deciphered them, and this is what they said : —
" Beloved, to lose right hand, is to be dumb. I am better, except at night. Could
not love his darling more. Wished myself at home when pains came ; but when
worst, this soft, clear air helps me. It is as Heaven's gate. All is well. Thus have
I stammered a line or two. Not quite dumb, bless the Lord ! What a good Lord
He is! 1 shall yet praise Him. Sleeplessness cannot so embitter the night as to
340 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
make me fear when He is near." This pathetic little note is signed, "Your own
belo\'ed Benjamite,^' for it was the work of his left hand.
I think the effort was too much for him, for two more letters w-ere written by
Mr. H. ; but a tender little joke, recorded in one of them, showed me that my
beloved was on the road to recovery. "Our dear Tirshatha," says Mr. H., "has
been greatly pleased with your letter received to-day ; your exhilaration appears
to have favourably affected him. He says that he hopes the time will speedily
arrive when he tvill be able to offer y on his hand !''
After this, the daily correspondence from his own pen is resumed, and in the
first letter he strikes his usual key-note of praise to God : — " Bless the Lord !
I feel lighter and better; but oh, how weak! Happily, having nothing to do,
it does not matter. I have nearly lost a whole month of life since I. first broke
down, but the Lord will restore this breach."
The next day, — date of letter, Dec. i, 1890, — he writes to his "poor lamb in
the snow " to tell her that " this poor sheep cannot get its forefoot right yet, but it is
far better than it was," — followed by the quaint petition, "May the Good Shepherd
dio- you out of the snow, and many may the mangolds and the swedes be which He
shall lay in the fold for His half- frozen sheep ! "
Our Arctic experiences in England were balanced by wintry weather on the
Riviera. "We have had two gloriously. terrific storms," he says ; "the sea wrought,
and was tempestuous ; it flew before the wind like glass dust, or powdered snow.
The tempest howled, yelled, screamed, and shrieked. The heavens seemed on fire,
and the skies reverberated like the boom of gigantic ketdedrums. Hail rattled
down, and then rain poured. It was a time of clamours and confusions. I went
to bed at ten, and left the storm to itself; and I woke at seven, much refreshed. I
ouo-ht to be well, but I am not, and don't know why."
Dec. 3, 1890. — "We had two drives yesterday, and saw some of the mischief
vvrouo-ht by the storm. The woodman. Wind, took down his keenest axe, and
went straight on his way, hewing out a clean path through the olives and the
pines. Here he rent off an arm, there he cut oft a head, and yonder he tore a trunk
asunder, like some fierce Assyrian in the days ere pity was born. The poor
cottaoers were gathering the olives from the road, trying to clear oft' the broken
bouo-hs before they bore down other trees, and putting up fences which the storm
had levelled with the ground. They looked so sad as they saw that we
commiserated them. To-day, so fair, so calm, so bright, so warm, is as a leaf from
the evergreen trees of Heaven. Oh, that you were here ! "
For the next four days, I received post cards only. There was a loving
C. H. SPUROEON S AUTOBIOGRAniY,
341
arrang-ement between us that these missives should be used when we were busy,
or had not much to tell ; but my beloved could always say a great many things
on these little messengers. He knew how to condense and crystallize his thoughts,
so that a few brief choice sentences conveyed volumes of tender meaning. I have
commenced this chapter with facsimiles of two of his poetical post cards of earlier
date ; here are two specimens belonging to the period of which 1 am writing : —
" Men tone,
"Sunday, Dec. 7, '90.
" Mia Carissima,
"Your praise of my letters prompts me to write more; but your royal
commands restrict me to a card ; and they are wise. Much love. Parcel has
arrived, — all that I want. If specially good books come, you might get Mr. Keys
to take two or three to Cook's office, for Haskoll to bring to me. He travels every
week to and fro.
" It was wet yesterday ; but I went out a very little walk. Mean to walk
every day, but find my feet painful, as if I could count all my bones, yet I am
each day better. To-day is dull, and by no means tropical; but, oh, so quiet 1
I am praying that the 'Report' may How as streams in the desert. In our port,
SHIPS IN MENTONE HARBOUR.
some vessels have all sails spread, but it is only to dry them ; better have ever
so litde a bit of canvas filled with the breath of heaven. I feel as if I were
drying ; may you have the breeze ! "
34- C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
" Mentone,
" Monday, 8/12/90.
" Out of that obedience which has so long been habitual to me, I did not write
this morning ; but, finding that there is an evening post, my rebellious nature seized
the occasion to indulge itself. To-day I dressed myself ! A childish glee is on me
as I record the fact. To have the use of one's hands again, is a big mercy. We
have had a heavenly day, and spent the morning in a long drive. Afternoon, I went
for a walk. I was entreated to attend laying of first stone in Scotch Church, but I
would not yield. H. went, and it was cold and draughty, — enough to lay me up
again. Wisdom did me a good turn when she bade me walk in the sun. Mr. A.
has sent home some flowers ; he despatched some rosebuds to you from me. They
will be perfumed a parfait aniozir. You write so sweetly. Yours is a hand which
sets to music all it writes to me. God bless you ! But you don't say how you are.
If you do not, I will write every day. We have fifteen in the hotel now. I have not
commenced morning prayer with them yet, but think of doing so soon. Remember
me to T. and old George."
Such postcards were as good as letters, and I could have been well content had
my husband sent me only these ; but he was lavish in his love, and insisted that the
letters should outnumber the smaller missives. I had long protested, and sincerely,
too, against what I ieared was a tax upon his precious holiday time ; but, to the
end, (for these are his very last letters to me,) he persevered in his tender, self-
imposed task ; and, now, the memory of his goodness is inexpressibly precious.
In the succeeding communication, there is a reference to the burning question
of the hour, — Home Rule, — which may interest readers who indulge a penchant
for politics : —
"We have had two of the loveliest of days; and, after a morning drive, I
have had an afternoon's walk, each day walking just a little more. It is not much
now, but it was and is much to me. The Dr. says that, in the heart-cure, they have
a zigzag up a mountain, and the patient tries a turn each day ; and when he can
Malk to the top and down, he goes home. My little perambulations are somewhat
after this fashion. This place Is delicious. It is just 8 a.m., and I have both
windows open, and I am writing to the low soft cadence of a rippling sea. Oh, that
you were here !
" That IrisJi stev/ ! The last dose was well peppered, and served up hot !
Perhaps now that they are separated they will get together, they seem to have been
greatly divided while they were united ! Poor G.O.M. ! How he must feel the insults
of those for whom he has forfeited everything ! Yet he seems to hold on to their
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 343
scheme though he knows that it is not only dangerous, but unattainable. I am glad
I am neither of Gladstone nor of Parnell. He that wades not up to the ankles, will
not go in up to the loins."-
Midwinter in England brought also to Mentone some cold, wet days, and these
acted on the Pastor's sensitive frame as the atmosphere operates on a barometer.
Dull and dreary days depressed him ; but when they came, they were welcomed, for
he would then turn to his literary work with redoubled energy, and get through an
amazing quantity of it in an incredibly short space of time ; but he revelled in the
sunshine, and enjoyed basking in its warm beams ; and his pity for those who had to
endure the severities of fog, frost, and snow, was very real and sincere.
" Poor darling," he wrote, "to be so cold. The Lord will soon hear prayer,
and send the soft South wind upon you, and then I also shall get well, and go out for
walks, and praise His Name. I wish I could think of something to cast a gleam of
sunlight over ' Westwood.' If my love were light, you would live in the sun. I shall
send some roses to-morrow, and they will prophesy of better days." Alas ! the
" better days " moved very tardily towards him on this occasion ; and, though of
course we did not know it at the time, the deadly mischief, which afterwards proved
fatal, had already begun to work in his poor body. " I cannot say that I am as I
should like to be," he writes ; " two cold, windy afternoons have kept me in, and so I
have missed my walk ; and my hand, inside, is white and chalky, and outside, on its
back, it is still somewhat swollen, and you see I cannot write so well. To-day, I
have been for a drive, but it was rather cold. I sleep well, take physic often, and
try to be right, and am really much better, but the mischief hangs about me."
Undoubtedly it did, and this was " the beginning of the end," though our eyes were
holden, so that we could not see it.
The loving ministries of his Mentone life began again, however. He "went
to see a sick Baroness, and prayed with her, and helped her to feel at rest through
submission to our Lord's will ; " and the morning meetings for worship were recom-
menced, the conduct of which gave him much joy and encouragement, with results
only fully known in Heaven.
Next morning, the aneroid marks a higher figure, but only for a few hours : —
" This has been so far a lovely, sunny, warm day, and we have been out for a long
drive, and enjoyed it much. Seen the mountains of Italy covered with their white
millers' hats ; and fields of roses, red, white, and yellow ! We had a drink of very
cold water from the fountain which gushes, apparently, from the heart of an olive.
(See illustration on page lo.) Now the day is darkening down with clouds, and
probably a cold blast will come. Yes, the angels are letting loose the winds from
344 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography. ..
their fists, and the palm trees are waving their fronds in token of victory over the sun
PALM TREES IN GARDEN OF HOTEL BEAU RIVAGE, MENTONE. «
which has retreated behind the clouds. These palms in front of the windows
constantly remind me of the words in the Revelation, ' with palms in their hands,' for
we are on a level with their grand fronds. I should think they measure ten or
twelve feet from where they start. They are magnificent emblems of victory. We
shall wave better than these when we are with the Lord, and celebrate His triumph ! "
Day after day, these barometric fluctuations agitated the dear patient, and
seemed to retard his recovery ; but they were only the outward indications of the
deep-seated internal trouble. It is wonderful how blind we were ; so used, I expect.
C. H. SrURGEON's AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 345
to the alternations of my beloved's condition, and so happily accustomed to see his
" rare power of recuperation," as the Dr. called it, manifestinc^ itself at the end of an
illness, that we had learned to anticipate complete recovery from all his sicknesses.
God be praised for the merciful veil which hides the future from our eyes !
" Mentone,
" Dec. 18, '90.
" Yesterday morning was wet and cold, and we rejoiced in the fire of olive logs.
After lunch, the clouds were gone, the winds fell asleep, the sun in beneficent
splendour gave us two hours of summer, during which your Prince Charlie went
forth in his chariot, and was so pleased with the light, colour, warmth, and tone
of everything, that he felt no spot or time could ever be more enjoyable unless his
dear consort could be with him. I want someone to show these things to, — and
there is only one ' someone ' who would fulfil my ideal.
" After morning prayer, we went down town to get the parcel from Cook's
man. All right. Books well selected. Hearty thanks. The tracts from
Drummond's we can give away. We sent sermons and other periodicals to a
Shields collier which has been in this port with coals. After getting our parcel,
we returned, for the clouds came up in black armies, and the wind rushed forth. It
may alter again, and then ' out we go ; ' but nothing seems to be settled, and I
suppose the weather here cannot be quiet, while it is so terrible with you. If the
Lord will, I trust the worst of the winter will soon be gone. I have plenty to do, so
that a day indoors is not dull, but I wish I could get my walk. This, too, may come.
I have one finger purple and swollen, but I feel so greatly better that I could clap
my hands if it were not for hurting that poor weak member."
Till Christmas-day, the letters tell of cold and rain, tornadoes of wind, and other
evils, with occasional glimpses of the lovely spring weather so much desired. My
husband greatly sympathized with us in our endurance of the very severe winter
of 1890 ; it was quite touching to note how constandy he referred to it, and seemed
almost to suffer with us in our long period of frost, fog, bitter cold, and darkness.
" I keep on praying for change of weather for you, and the poor and sick," he
writes ; "I wish I could send you a brazier of the coals of my heart, which
have a most vehement flame."
Oh, how true this was ! God had made him a real philanthropist, and the woes
of others were felt, and commiserated, and brought before the Lord, with as much
earnestness and sincerity as though they had been his own. His heart was so bio-,
it had room for others' griefs ; and it was so full of love and pity, that he had always
some to spare for those who needed it.
546
c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
A carriacre drive to Ventimiglia gave him great pleasure just at this time.
\t.\ri.MIGLIA, ITALY.
From a certain part of the road, the Col di Tenda and a considerable portion of
the Maritime Alps are visible, in their winter dress ot snow ; and visitors from
Mentone are fond of driving there to see a picture quite unique in its grouping, —
a foreground of roses, and palms, and tropical vegetation luxuriating in the
sunshine, — on the one side, the blue waters of the Mediterranean rivalling the
brightness of the sky ; on the other, the valley of the Roya, with picturesque hamlets
on both banks of the river, and, for a distant background, those solemn white
Alps proclaiming, in a language which cannot be misunderstood, the greatness and
majesty of their Maker.
Christmas-day was grey and cold, and was spent in work, "digging away
at books and letters." Friends had lavished upon him a wealth of lovely flowers,
— roses, carnations, hyacinths, tuberoses, cyclamen, — in vases ; and a pot of that
sweetest of sweet blossoms, lily of the valley ; but he could scarcely enjoy them.
All night, his bones had "cried and groaned " with rheumatism; and he must, I
c H. spurgeon's autobiography. 347
think, for the first time, have had sonie premonition of danger, for he says, "There
is some deep-seated gout in me."
But even this passes, and the five following days each bring a bright, cheerful
little post card to reassure and comfort me. One, written on Monday,
December 29, 1890, tells of "a delightful meeting, last night, in the room above
ours. Piano, with hymns ad lib., and I preiiched from Deut. xxxii. 10, glad to
review the goodness of Him who found, led, taught, and kept me ; " and the last
of the five — ^on December 31, 1890, — testifies thus graciously to the goodness and
faithfulness of God : — " The old year is nearly out, — a good old year, a year of
lovingkindnesses and of tender mercies. I cannot dismiss it with a complaint, but with
thankfulness. Oh, for more holiness for myself in the new year, and more health
for my beloved spouse ! I think I shall get home for February i, or first Sunday
in February, for I now feel as if life had come back to me with enjoyment, and a
measure of sprighdy thought, for which I would praise the Lord practically by
employing it in His service. We had twenty-three to morning prayer to-day, —
nearly as many as the room can hold. How they do come ! Wet and cold do not
hinder, and they are so grateful."
" New Year's Day, fan. i, 1891.
" A happy new year to you, my sweetest and best ! I would write it in the
biggest of capitals if that would show how happy I wish the year to be. I had
a praiseful evening yesterday, blessing God for the old year ; and now, this morning,
we have had a good meeting. We sang No. ',042 in Our Oivn Hymn Book, having
made copies for our twenty-four friends. Then I read and expounded Psalm ciii.,
and prayed. There were flowers, and cards, and contributions ; and, this afternoon,
we are going to give our landlord and h:s wife a present, for the house is not full,
and the keeping- of the hotel is not profitable. So there will be joy among many
as we meet for tea. God is indeed gracious to me, for I feel well, and I turn
my face homeward in desire. I have been for a drive in the delicious summer
sunshine. Oh, that you had been at my side ! I have just read your sweet, sweet
letter. You best-beloved of my heart, how I wish I could change your weather !
I can only pray ; but prayer moves the hand which moves winds and clouds.
The Lord Himself comfort you, and bear you up under all troubles, and make
up to you, by His own presence, the absence of health, warmth, and husband ! "
When my beloved felt fairly well, his Sundays at Mentone were a great joy
and rest to him. He made the day full of sweet, devout service, and still sweeter
communion with the Lord ! In the morning, after having family prayer, he would,
perhaps, go to the Presbyterian place of worship in Mrs. Dudgeon's garden ; and
348 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
afterwards write to me: — "Capital sermon from Mr. Somerville on Rev. ii. 12, 17,
splendidly witnessing against the 'Down-grade.'" In the afternoon, there would
be breaking of bread, and one of those choice little addresses, on the love and grace
of the Lord Jesus, which melted all hearts, and rekindled the latent fires of devotion
in some inconstant breast ; and the evening would be spent in singing God's praises,
and listening- to a brief sermon by Mr. Harrald, or someone else who might have
a message to deliver. " Quite a full day," he remarks, after one of these occasions,
" but it seemed very short, and as sweet as short. Oh, that you were here ! "
The holy, happy influence of these Sabbaths overflowed into the days of the
week, which to my beloved were as much " Lord's-days " as those set apart bv law
and gospel. The company at morning worship grew larger every week, the
adjoining room had to be thrown open, and one very cold day he wrote : — " I
wondered to see my visitors assemble to the great number of forty-one, and thev
do not want to go away from what some of them call ' this dear room.' Trulv, the
Lord is here, and His Word is sweet both to them and to me, as we read it morning
by morning. What a text is Isaiah Ixii. 7, in the Revised Version: 'Ye that are
the Lord's remembrancers, take ye no rest, and give Him no rest.' Oh, for such
importunate prayers for His Church now that evil times have come ! "
A tender, loving birthday letter, which set all the joy-bells in my heart ringing,
comes next in order, and I quote a tew extracts from it : — " I trust this will reach
you on your own dear birthday. Ten thousand benedictions be upon you ! . . .
What an immeasurable blessing you have been to me, and are still ! Your patience
in suffering, and diligence in service, are works of the Holy Spirit in you, for which
I adore His Name. Your love to me is not only a product of nature, but it has
been so sanctified by grace that it has become a spiritual blessing to me. May you
still be upheld ; and if you may not be kept from suffering, may you be preserved
from sinking ! . . . My love to you grows, and yet I do not know how at any
time it could have been greater. I am thinking which I shall do, — drive out, and send
you flowers, or walk, and get Mr. A. to send them. I know which way your vote
would go, and I shall act accordingly, if our friend will undertake the commission.
If flowers do not come, please know that it was in my heart to send them,"
A few days after, a reference is made to my reply in these words : — "I had
your letter, last night, which was written on your birthday. I am so glad the
flowers reached you, and made you glad. There is .a happy tone about ' the old
woman's ' letter which does the old man good. God bless you, darling, and delight
your heart with trucks and sacks of good things for others ! " This latter sentence
refers to the generous action of one of our near neighbours, on Beulah Hill, who,
knowing that I was interesting myself for the poor in Thornton Heath, had placed
C.' H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 349
a trucUload of coals at my disposal for them. The long" and dreary winter had
severely tried them, and we opened a soup-kitchen at "Westwood," which
ministered daily to their necessities. My beloved felt sorely troubled for the
distress which came so close to our doors, and did not fail to take his share in the
pitying' help rendered to those who could not help themselves during the time of
that awful frost. " I am so glad you feed the poor," he wrote ; "spend ^lo for me.
please ; don't stint anything". As I look at the pictures in The GrapJiic, my spirits
sink, but my prayer rises." And a few days later he returns to the same subject : —
" I pray day and night for a thaw to come, and end this great distress by allowing
the people to work. Do spend my ^lo, which I will send by next post."
The grey, cold days, which prevailed at Mentone during" the early part of the
year 1891, gave the dear preacher an opportunity for working" hard, of which he
willingly availed himself He heartily enjoyed the pleasurable leisure of drivino",
which seemed to soothe his brain, and refresh both body and spirit ; but he was
never idle ; and, after returning- from his excursions, he would apply himself imme-
diately to the work in hand, and his busy pen would fly over the sheets of paper with
untiring' energy. The secret of the amazing wealth of literary labour, which he left
as a legacy to the world, lay in the fact that he was constantly gathering" up the
seed-pearls of small opportunities while never neglecting the greater occasions of
enrichment. Receiving" and imparting, gaining that he might give, labouring" not
for himselt but for others, the redeemed minutes soon multiplied into hours, and the
hours grew into days, and so his life, like a fieJd well-dressed and tended, bore
hundredfold crops to the praise and delight of the Great Husbandman.
Sabbath, Jan. iS, 1891, he wrote: — "I have not gone to service this morning,
as I had sermons to revise, and one to get for this afternoon. I have chosen
Psalm xxxii. 9, and want to show the joy of having a good understanding with the
Lord, so as to need no bit, but to be left free to go on in His way with liberty.
Two things are to be dreaded, — Irreverent familiarity : 'lest they come near unto
thee ; ' (a. v.) — Disobedient departure : ' else they will not come near unto thee, (r.v.)
Are not the two renderings curious .■* To me, they set forth the same thing in
difi'erent lights. Note, in R.v., ' whose trappings must be bit and bridle,' as if
even these were made ornamental, and our inflictions and afilictions became our
decorative equipment, — yet even then not desirable. Oh, to be guided by the
Lord's eye ! "
Further on, I am told that he had "a good service from the text mentioned,"
and then that he had been able to revise six sermons ready for printing when double
numbers were wanted, or "to be used it I should be ill." Was this another
350
H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAl'HY.
premonition ? If it were, the shadow soon passed, for the next letter describes a visit
to BeauHeu, — " a lovely drive, in the warm sunshine, to a place which I should like
to stop at for a time another year, if it please God." This little outing must have
benefited the dear patient, for, the next morning, he writes : — " I am working with
windows wide open ; and when I have done, I hope to take my long walk round the
red rocks. (See illustration on page 12.) I forgot to tell you that, on Thursday,
Mr. Cheyne Bradv came over from Cannes, and we walked out a mile or more, and
MR. SPURGEON'S favourite WALK AT MEXTONE.
talked, and prayed, and then came back. He returned alone because he had to
hurry to catch a train, but I walked both ways with great pleasure ; indeed, it was
the best time I have spent since I came here. The sun, the air, the sea, all
ministered to me ; and I ministered to the Lord in grateful praise."
Mr. Spurgeon had consented to open the new Scotch Church on Thursday,
January 29, 1891 ; but, on the Wednesday, while out walking, a sudden seizure of
gout in both hands and one foot threatened to lay him aside once more. It is most
touching to read how he fought the disease both with physic and by dieting. " The
H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
;5r
enemy is going," he writes; "driven out by medicine, starved out by oatmeal and
nothing else for lunches and dinners." He took the service at the Scotch Church,
though so utterly unfit for it, and " got through the sermon with trembling knees^
and the bell gone out of my voice."
THE SCOTCH PKLSBYILKIAN. CHURCH, MLMoNL.
So extremely sensitive as my beloved was to any degree of pain, it was simply
marvellous how he overcame this weakness of body, and served while sufferino-,
when work for the Master called forth his spiritual energies. Many a time, at the
Tabernacle, has he painfully limped into his pulpit, leaning heavily on his stick, and.
352 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
unable to stand, has preached, kneehng- with one knee on a chair ; but even then,
the astonished congregation has seen him, warming to his work, and inspired by his
all-consuming zeal, push the chair aside, and, grasping the rail of the platform with
both hands, stand there for the rest of the service, apparently forgetful of his
boclilv distress, because absorbed by his passionate desire to persuade poor sinner?
to come to Christ.
But this is a digression. We must return to Mentone for the few days yet
remaining.
One of the dear preacher's last ministrations, on this occasion, was to hold a
funeral service over the body of the Baroness von H., whom he had so often visited
and comforted in her last sickness. He writes: — "There was a great blaze of
candles on both sides of the coffin, and palm branches and white flowers upon it.
She is now to be carried to Russia, and I should think the journey will occupy
a fortnight. Why can't they let a body be ^ I would prefer to be buried wherever
I might die ; yet, as she wished to lie in the same tomb with her husband, there is
an argument on that side also."
Now the record draws quickly to a close. It had been a time of strangely
mingled experiences of rest and rack, of cold and heat, of storm and sunshine,
of pain and pleasure ; — but, over all, the peace of God brooded like a dove, and
the home-coming was safe and happy ; not even a shadow of the dark dispensation,
which fell upon us in June, then rested on our spirits. The vejy last communication
froni Mentone was a post card, which, Irom the extracts I give, will be seen to have
been written in quite good spirits, and suitably closes this chapter : —
" Mentone,
" Monday, February 2, '91.
" Mine Own,
" I telegraphed you to-day, and I hope your anxiety has ceased. There !
at this moment, a mosquito popped on my nose, and Harrald has killed him ! So
may all your fears end ! I am very much better ; indeed, well. Archibald Brown
has been with me for an hour ; and the sight of him, and a little prayer with
him, have set me up. I rested well yesterday. We are all in a muddle packing ;
H., in his shirt-sleeves, almost wants to pack vie up ! I am writing notes of
' Good-bye ' to friends. I hope soon to follow where this card is going ; how
delighted I am with the prospect! If you don't hear again, do not wonder; it
anything should be wrong, I will wire at once. 1 am already with you in spirit.
My heart has never left you. Blessed be God that we are spared to each other !"
CHAPTER CV.
^Ijt ions illness.
"/ have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction" — This has long been the motto fixed before our
eye upon the wall of our bed-chamber, and in many ways it has also been written on our heart.
It is no mean thing to be chosen of God. God's choice makes chosen men choice men. . . . We
are chosen, not in the palace, but in the furnace. In the furnace, beauty is marred, fashion is
destroyed, strength is melted, glory is consumed ; yet here eternal love reveals its secrets, and
declares its choice. So has it been in our case. . . . Therefore, if to-day the furnace be heated
seven times hotter, we will not dread it, for the glorious Son of God will walk with us amid the
glowing coals.— C. H. S., in " The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith."
H E first Sabbath after his return from the sunny South, — February 8,
1 89 1, — the Pastor preached at the Tabernacle from Isaiah Ixii. 6, 7,
using both the Authorized and Revised Versions, as he had done
when speaking upon that passage at Mentone. On that occasion,
he said to his secretary, "You need not transcribe your report,
for I expect to have this subject again when I get home." He had
been specially struck with the Revisers' rendering of the text: "Ye that are the
Lord's remembrancers, take ye no rest, and give Him no rest, till He establish, and
till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth." The sermon was intended to be the
key-note of the year's service for God ; it was a powerful call to prayer and
testimony, yet probably even the preacher himself did not then fully realize how
appropriate was his message in preparing the people for that long season of almost
ceaseless intercession while he was enduring the heaviest affliction of his life, and
from which he was never really to recover.
Although there were ominous indications that his health was by no means all that
could be desired, he did not spare himself, but laboured with the utmost earnestness
and zeal to extend his Master's Kingdom. A brief " Note " in The Szvord and the
Trowel of that period gives just a glimpse of the great spiritual prosperity which was
being enjoyed only a little while before the starding breakdown which proved to be
" the beginning of the end " : — " The month of March has been a memorable one for
the church in the Tabernacle. Pastor C. H. S. continued to see persons who wished
to join the church, and out of these he had eighty-four to propose for fellowship.
How much of joyous labour all these involved, is best known to the Pastor and the
sympathizing reapers who shared his delightful toil. To God alone be glory."
Y4
354 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
The last College Conference, at which Mr. Spurgeon was present, was held
from Monday, April 20, to Friday, April 24. In the May number of The
Sword and the Troivel, the Editor inserted the following "Note" concerning the
Sabbath night after the meetings : — " To the President, the week of Conference
was one of exhausting delight. Every day, everything went well. . . . Of
course, there was a reaction for the one who was the centre of all this ; and,
for the first time in a ministry of forty years, we entered the pulpit on the Sunday
evening, and were obliged to hurry out of it ; for a low, nervous condition shut us up.
Happily, Mr. Stott could take up the story there and then ; and he did so." It was
very remarkable that, in his letter, written to Mr. Stott, four months previously,
concerning his appointment as assistant-minister for the year 1891, Mr. Spurgeon
said : — -" It would be a great relief to me if I knew that someone was on the spot
to take the pulpit should I suddenly fail." That expression almost implies a
premonition of what took place on that Sabbath night, April 26, 1891.
This unprecedented experience was an indication of a very serious state of affairs;
yet, the following Lord's-day morning. May 3, the Pastor was in his pulpit again ;
and he delivered the discourse which he had prepared for the previous week, prefacing
it with a reference to the " overpowering nervousness " which had then oppressed
him, and pointing out the lessons which that strange occurrence was probably
intended to teach to himself and his hearers. He preached again at night; on the
following afternoon, he was at the Tabernacle, seeing enquirers and candidates for
church-fellowship ; and in the evening, he presided at the prayer-meeting. In the
course of the proceedings, he asked for earnest supplication on behalf of the special
services in which he was to be occupied during the week. These comprised the
annual sermon to Sunday-school teachers, at Bloomsbury Chapel, on the Tuesday
evening ; a sermon at the Tabernacle, on the Thursday night, in aid of the British
and Foreign Sailors' Society, preceded by a prayer-meeting in the lecture-hall ; and
two meetings at Hendon, on the Friday, in connection with the "Fraternal" of
which Mr. Spurgeon was a member. In the June number of The Sword and the
Trowel, the Editor gave a brief account of all these gatherings, and some others that
followed shordy afterwards ; and his " Notes " indicate that the long illness had
commenced, although he was not then aware of its serious nature or its probable
duration. The concluding paragraphs were as follows : —
" Friends will note that all the above meetings were held in one week, which also
included two Sabbath services and the great communion at the Tabernacle, beside
all the regular home-work, correspondence, etc. In addition, the Lord's-day
morning sermon had to be revised, and published the following Thursday ; and the
sermons to Sunday-school teachers and sailors were received for revision, and duly
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
355
attended to. Is it any wonder that the worker gets weary, and has to beg friends not
to impose further burdens on one who is already terribly overladen ?
"On Friday evening, May 15, Mr. Spurgeon spoke at the Presbyterian
missionary meeting at Exeter Hall. It was a time of peculiar bodily weakness, and
of special spiritual strength, God bless our friends who so kindly received the
message and the messenger !
"On Sunday evening, May 17, Mr. Spurgeon could not preach ; and on the
Monday, the doctor found him laid aside with congestion of the lungs and other
matters, which forbid his quitting his chamber for some little time to come. ' My
times are in Thy hand.' We would always be preaching : howbeit, the Lord
thinketh not so."
The text quoted by the Pastor was the subject of his Sabbath morning sermon
C. H. SPURGEON PREACHING IN THE TABERNACLE, 189I.
on May 17, which many have supposed to be his last discourse in the Tabernacle.
It was not, however, for there was one more message which he was to be permitted
556
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
to speak to the great congregation before that " long silence " which was only
temporarily broken at Mentone on the following New Year's Eve. On Lord's-day
morning, June 7, 1891, Mr. Spurgeon stood for the last time on that platform which,
for thirty years, had been his pulpit throne, and from which he had proclaimed the
gospel to at least twenty millions of hearers, while, by means of the printed page,
he had been brought into communication with a far greater number of readers in
all quarters of the globe. His text, on that ever-memorable morning, was
I Samuel xxx. 21 — 25 ; and the sermon was published, as No. 2,208 in the regular
weekly issue, under the title, " The Statute of David for the Sharing of the Spoil."
The whole discourse was a noble conclusion to the Pastor's ministry in the beautiful
sanctuary which was ever to him what Zion was to the Jews ; but the final sentences
were so noteworthy that they are inserted here, in full, to correspond with
" C. H. Spurgeon's First Words at the Tabernacle," given in Vol. III., page i.
l>5*flonis
X^berneicle
If you wear the live^ of Christ, you will find Him so meek and lowly
of heart that you will find rest unto your souls.He is the most magnan-
imous of captains. There never was His like among the choicest of princes
He is always to be found in the thickest part of the battle. When the wind
blows cold He always takes the bleoksideof thehilljheheaviestend of
the cross lies ever on His shoulders. If He bids us carry a burden. He
carries it also. If there is anything that is gracious. generou5,kird,cind
tender.yea lavish and superabundant in love.you always find it in Him.
His service is life, peacejqy. Oh.thatyou would enter on it at once! God
help you to enlist under the banner of JesUS CHRIST !
c. H. spurgeon's last words at the tabernacle, JUNE 7, 1891,
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
;57
On the followingr morning, Mr. Spurgeon went into the country, to be the
guest of Mr. Gurteen, of Haverhill, in order that he might again visit Stambourne
and its neighbourhood, that his photographer friend might take the views which
he wished to have reproduced for his little volume. Memories of Stamboitrne. The
gout-mischief that was lurking in his system, with the deadly effects of the
mysterious malady so strangely misnamed influenza, combined to produce such
alarming symptoms thaf he had to hurry home on the Friday ; and then, for three
months, he was completely laid aside.
One of the additional trials of the early part of his illness was the fact that he
was unable to preach or speak in connection with the opening of the Surrey
Gardens Memorial Hall, which had been erected partly with the view of providing
THE SURREY GARDENS MEMORIAL HALL.
suitable accommodation for the workers connected with the Carter Street Sunday-
school, but also as a permanent memorial of the Pastor's ministry in the Surrey
Gardens Music Hall. On October 20, 1890, Mr. Spurgeon and Mr. S. R. Pearce had
laid the foundation stones of the new building ; Mr. W. Higgs had erected it in his
usual excellent and generous fashion ; and, in the meantime, the whole of the
amount required to pay for it had been raised. The opening services were
358 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
postponed from June 2 to June 23, in the hope that the Pastor might be sufficiently
restored to take part in them ; but, by that time, his illness had assumed so serious
a form that the hope had to be abandoned, and the premises had to be set apart
for the Lord's service under the shadow of an impending calamity which threatened
to add still greater solemnity to the memorial character of the work.
About that time, Dr. Kidd was called in to consult with Dr. Miller, of Upper
Norwood, who had been in attendance upon Mr. Spurgeon since May 18, and
Dr. Russell Reynolds was also consulted. For a while, all that medical skill,
patient watching, and careful nursing could do, appeared to be of no avail ; and,
with the use of all means that seemed wise and right, prayer was being offered,
unceasingly, by believers all over the world. The Tabernacle Church, beginning
with a whole day of intercession for the suffering Pastor, continued to meet, morning,
noon, and night, to plead for his recovery. In hundreds and perhaps thousands
of Nonconformist places of worship, sympathetic petitions were presented on his
behalf, — the Chief Rabbi being a conspicuous representative of those who held
very different views from Mr. Spurgeon's, but who remembered him at the throne
of grace in his season of suffering. Many of the clergy of the Established
Church, with their congregations, were equally earnest in praying for him, the
ecclesiastical dignitaries officiating at St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey
joining with the Archbishops and many of the Bishops in interceding on his behalf.
The secular and religious press of our own and other lands devoted much
space to accounts of his illness, and particulars of his work, — not always accurate,
though, on the whole, exceedingly kind and appreciative. Telegrams, letters, and
resolutions of sympathy poured into " VVestwood " in a continuous stream, while
those who called or sent to enquire for the beloved sufferer were of all ranks, from
the Prince of Wales and a great proportion of the nobility of the country to the
poorest of the poor. A volume might be filled with the letters from notable
individuals who wrote, during that trying time, (and the period of bereavement
that followed it,) either to the Pastor or to Mrs. Spurgeon ; but space can only be
spared here for just a small selection of the most representative communications.
The one that probably had the most tender associations connected with it was written
by Mr. Gladstone, who had recently lost his eldest son. He was staying with his
friend, Mr, Colmian, from whose house he sent the following touching epistle : —
" Corton,
" Lowestoft,
"July 16, 1891. ,
" My Dear Madam,
"In my own home, darkened at the present time, I have read with sad
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 359
* interest the daily accounts of Mr. Spurgeon's illness ; and I cannot help conveying
to you the earnest assurance of my sympathy with you and with him, and of my
cordial admiration, not only of his splendid powers, but still more of his devoted
and unfailing character. May I humbly commend you and him, in all contingencies,
to the infinite stores of the Divine love and mercy, and subscribe myself, —
"My dear madam,
" Faithfully yours,
" W. E. Gladstone."
" Mrs. Spurgeon."
In reply, Mrs. Spurgeon wrote as follows : —
"Westwood,
"July i8, 1891.
" Deg,r Mr. Gladstone,
"Your words of sympathy have a special significance and tenderness
coming from one who has just passed through the deep waters which seem now
to threaten me. I thank you warmly for your expression of regard for my beloved
husband, and with all my heart I pray that the consolations of God may abound
towards you even as they do to me. Although we cannot yet consider the dear
patient out of danger, the doctors have to-day issued a somewhat more hopeful
bulletin. I feel it an honour to be allowed to say that I shall ever be —
"Your grateful friend,
" S. Spurgeon. (Mrs. C. H.)"
Mr. Gladstone's letter arrived at "Westwood" just when Mr. Spurgeon was
enjoying one of the brief intervals between the long periods of delirium which
were so painful a feature of his illness. He was delighted to hear the great
statesman's epistle read, and said that he should like to add a few words to his
dear wife's grateful acknowledgment of it. Accordingly, with his own hand, he
wrote this postscript, — the first words that he had penned for weeks : — ■
" P.S. — Yours is a word of love such as those only write who have been
into the King's country, and have seen much of His face. My heart's love to
you. — C. H. Spurgeon."
The following letter from Earl Fortescue is a good specimen of the expressions
of sympathy from many of the truly noble men and women of the land : —
" 48, Grosvenor Gardens, S.W.,
"July 18, '9.1.
" Dear Madam,
" I had hoped to have called, some days ago, to testify my deep regret,
on both public and private grounds, at Mr. Spurgeon's serious illness, and to
360 C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
express my sincere sympathy with you in your long and terrible anxiety. But
I found I unfortunately could not manage to do so.
" I therefore intrude upon you with this line instead, which requires no answer.
I will just add that I am, from saddest experience, only too well able both to
appreciate your anxiety, and to feel for you under the severe trial with which
the Almighty, in His infinite love and inscrutable wisdom, has seen fit to visit
you and your honoured husband. May God, as He alone can, support and cheer
you both, whether He, in answer to the prayers of thousands, shall vouchsafe
to prolong that precious life, or whether He shall decide to call up His faithful
servant to rest and glory !
"Yours truly,
" Mrs. Spurgeon." " Fortescue."
Quite a number of letters came from Bishops of the Church of England ; two
of the choicest of them were written by the Bishops of Worcester (Dr. Perowne)
and Exeter (Dr. Bickersteth). They were as follows : —
" Hartlebury Castle,
" Kidderminster,
" 23 July, 1891.
" Dear Mrs. Spurgeon,
" May I ask you to convey, for me, to Mr. Spurgeon, if he is able
to bear it, the expression of my heartfelt sympathy in his illness, and my earnest
prayers that, of God's great mercy, he may be restored to health } I am very
thankful to see, by to-day's bulletin, that there is some slight improvement. God
grant that it may continue !
" Permit me to offer to you also the assurance of my respectful sympathy in
the long and anxious watch that you have had by your husband's sick-bed. I do
not know him personally ; but he has written me some very kind letters, and all
the world knows him by his work, and every Christian heart must feel for him,
and for you, and his family, and pray for his recovery.
" Believe me,
" Yours very faithfully,
"J. J. S. Worcester."
" The Palace,
" Exeter,
"28 July, 1891.
" My Dear Madam,
" May I venture to assure you that we have mingled our prayers with
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 361
those of countless others on behalf of your beloved husband in this time of need ?
My wife and I have prayed for him together, and also with our children and
servants. God will be with you ; and, as the trial of your faith has been so lono-,
the consolation of His love will supply all your wants, and breathe the peace
of God into your heart and home.
" I have ventured to enclose two hymns, one of which your husband has
so kindly spoken of, and possibly he may like to have them within reach.
" Believe me,
" Yours in true sympathy,
" Mrs. Spurgeon." " E. H. Exon."
The ^hymn referred to was Bishop Bickersteth's well-known one, " Peace !
perfect peace ! " on which Mr. Spurgeon had spoken when visiting a sick friend at
Mentone. His address was published in The Sivord and the Troivel for July,
1 89 1, just at the most critical period of his own illness ; and many readers were
comforted by his comment on the lines —
"Peace! perfect peace! death shadowing us and ours?
Jesus has vanquish'd death and all its powers."
Archbishop and Mrs. Benson called or sent many times to enquire for the
suffering Pastor. The following letter belongs to the period of partial convalescence
when Mr. Spurgeon had been able to drive as far as Addington ; but it seems to fit
in more appropriately after the Bishops' epistles :—
" Addington Park,
' ' Croydon,
" I Oct., 1891.
" My Dear Mr. Spurgeon,
" I was surprised and delighted to see your handwriting, and to see it so
firm and clear. I only lamented that, as you were actually here, it had not been my
good fortune to see you. We do earnestly hope that when (and may it soon be !)
you are able to leave your carriage, and come in, you will do so ; or, in the middle
of your ride, let us bring you out a glass of wine or a cup of tea.
" We know how much you must have suffered, and we have watched your
retardations and advances with hearts full of regard and hope. It has been oiven
to you, not only to labour for Christ, and to bring many souls within the knowledo-e
and feeling of the Atonement ; but — it seems to follow with so many of those who
have come nearest to Him in that great way, to be drawn into closest sympathy with
His sufferings, — to catch the reality of those mysterious words, Ka\ avTavairX^pw rk
vaTepiJixara rwv dXv^ewy rov XptcTTov ev rp aapKL fiou.* No doubt there are also some verses
in the Psalms which you can now, more than ever, make your own.
* Colossians i- 24 : " and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions ot Christ in my flesh."
362 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
■ I do greatly rejoice if, according to your own kind thought, it has been
possible that expressions of sympathy have been unlocked to you. But you may be
quite sure that the sympathy was most genuine in all who have shown it. They
had shown it to their Master, long before, in prayer that He would lay His hand on
y-ou in healing, and give you yet time for garnering for Him.
"We join in sincerest wishes and sympathies for Mrs. Spurgeon also. Pray
let us see you on some other drive.
" Yours most sincerely in the one Lord,
" Edw. Cantuar."
" P.S. — I think it must have been your sick handwriting on a wrapper of The
Greatest Fight before I went away. If so, thank you more and more."
The progress towards a measure of recovery may be briefly traced. On
August 9, the following letter, the first written by the Pastor's own hand after
his long illness, was read to the congregation at the Tabernacle, and was received
both as an answer to prayer, and an encouragement to continued intercession : —
" Dear Brethren,
" The Lord's Name be praised for first giving and then hearing the
loving prayers of His people! Through these prayers my life is prolonged. I
feel greatly humbled, and very grateful, at being the object of so great a love and
so wonderful an outburst of prayer.
" I have not strength to say more. Let the Name of the Lord be glorified.
" Yours most heartily,
" C. H. Spurgeon."
Even after the first signs of improvement were manifest, a long and wearisome
time followed, hopeful advances alternating with disappointing relapses. At last, the
dear patient was able to be carried downstairs, and to be wheeled round his garden,
where the fresh air seemed to work wonders for him. On entering his study, for the
first time, and catching sight of the final proofs oi John Ploughman s Almanack and
Sp2trgeons Illnstrated Almanack, and then asking for copies of the recently-issued
sermons and magazine, he exclaimed, " Why ! you have carried on everything just as
if I had been here." Those who were responsible for the work felt that, if possible,
nothing must be allowed to suffer during his absence ; and it was a great joy to
them to find how highly their services were appreciated by the Pastor. It was also
a providential arrangement by which the issue of the various works was, at first,
temporarily undertaken during the dear author's illness, for then, when it became
necessary to publish them, after his home-going, his helpers had only to continue
the plans which had already been for some months in operation.
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
As the autumn advanced, and the patient's weakness did not disappear, it
became certain that he must go to Mentone for the winter if he could journey so far.
The renewed offer of Dr. Pierson, to cross the Atlantic if he could be of any service
to the Pastor, appeared to everyone another providential arrangement ; and,
ultimately, it was settled that he should commence his service at the Tabernacle on
Lord's-day, October 25. In order to test the invalid's power to travel, .an
experimental visit was paid to Eastbourne from October 3 to 16. This proved most
satisfactory, and it also further indicated the absolute necessity of a prolonged rest in
the sunny South. Accordingly, on Monday, October 26, Pastor and Mrs. C. H.
Spurgeon, Pastor and Mrs. J. A. Spurgeon, and Mr. Harrald started on their
thousand miles' journey. They were accompanied as far as Calais by two of the
Tabernacle deacons, Messrs. Allison and Higgs. It was stated in various
newspapers at the time that Baron Rothschild had placed his saloon carriage at Mr.
Spurgeon's disposal. This was not the case, for Messrs. Alabaster, Passmore, and
Sons and Mr. John M. Cook most generously defrayed the cost of the saloon carriage
from Calais to Mentone, and so enabled the whole party to travel in ease and comfort,
and to arrive at their destination on Thursday, October 29. After the return to
England of Pastor and Mrs. I. A. Spurgeon, Miss E. H. Thorne, who had then
MISS E. H. THORNE.
been for a quarter of a century Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon's devoted companion and friend,
arrived. Her services had been invaluable throughout the whole of that long period,
and especially during the trying experiences of the pa-st summer ; and her presence
at Mentone was a great comfort and help, particularly in the last anxious days and
>64
H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
nights of Mr. Spurgeon's illness. Blessed with good health, and a bright, cheery
spirit, she was able most lovingly and loyally to minister to the dear sufferer right to
the end of his earthly life, and then remained to share the sorrow of the bereaved
one until together they returned to " VVestwood " to carry on the many forms of
Christian service still associated with that hallowed home.
THE SITTING-ROOM AT WENTOiNE.
CHAPTER CVI.
€\)t Imt Cljm Jlontfjs at JSltntottt ;— anii afttrfaarirs.
"And there was given unto them a short time before they went forward."
" Upon this sunny shore
A httle space for rest. The care and sorrow,
Sad memory's haunting pain that would not cease,
Are left behind. It is not yet to-morrow.
To-day there falls the dear surprise of peace ;
The sky and sea, their broad wings round us sweeping,
Close out the world, and hold us in their keeping.
A little space for rest. Ah ! though soon o'er.
How precious is it on the sunny shore !
" Upon this sunny shore
A little space for love, while those, our dearest.
Yet linger with us ere they take their flight
To that far world which now doth seem the nearest,
So deep and pure this sky's down-bending light.
Slow, one by one, the golden hours are given,
A respite ere the earthly ties are riven.
When left alone, how, 'mid our tears, we store
Each breath of their last days upon this shore I
" Upon this sunny shore
A little space to wait : the life-bowl broken,
The silver cord unloosed, the mortal name
We bore upon this earth by God's voice spoken.
While at the sound all earthly praise or blame.
Our joys and griefs, alike with gentle sweetness
Fade in the dawn of the next world's completeness.
The hour is Thine, dear Lord ; we ask no more,
But wait Thy summons on the sunny shore." — Author unknown.
T was a tender token of the Lord's lovingkindness that husband
and wife were, for once, permitted to travel together to Mentone,
and to spend there three months of perfect happiness before the
sorrowful separation which had been so long dreaded, but which
came at last almost without warning. Mr. Spurgeon's oft-expressed
longing,- — " Oh, that my dear wifey could see all the beauties and
glories of this land of sunshine and flowers ! " — was at length realized ; and he had
the joy of pointing out to her the many scenes with which he had been familiar
for years, but which became doubly precious to him under such delightful
circumstances. The rooms in the Hotel Beau Rivage, which he and his friends
had occupied year by year, soon began to give evidence of a lady's presence in
them. A very special adornment was commenced for the large sitting-room which
?66
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
had become a peculiarly hallowed spot to all the members of the Pastor's Mentone
circle because of the morning gatherings there for the reading ot the Word and
prayer, and the still more sacred Sabbath afternoon meetings around the table of
the Lord.
THE SITTING-ROOM AT MENTONE (SECOND VIEW).
At the top of the accompanying illustration, and also of the one given on
page 364, several texts of Scripture can be read. They form part of the series of
passages which Mrs. Spurgeon worked upon perforated cards as a grateful memorial
of God's goodness in taking them both safely to the sunny South after all their
painful experiences in England during the preceding summer and autumn. In the
above view of the sitting-room, the partly-drawn curtains reveal the extra space
where many worshippers and communicants assembled when the first room was
filled with the earlier comers. Mr. Spurgeon's weakness prevented him from
resuming those much-prized services, during his last sojourn " on the sunny
shore," except on the memorable occasions hereafter mentioned ; but he lost
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Z^7
no time in beginning such literary work as he felt able to accomplish. He
spent many hours in the "cosy corner" here represented, and was not willing
MR. SPURGEON S '•COSY CORNER AT JIENTONE.
to admit that he was doing too much for an invalid. He wrote many post
cards and letters while sitting at that table, but his chief employment was the
continuation of his Exposition of the Gospel according to Matthew, to which
reference has been made in Chapter CH. Some articles for The Sword afid the
Trowel, with " Notes " and reviews of books, also came from his busy pen ; but
he expressly said that he only occupied the editorial chair while he wrote the
Preface to the magazine volume for 1891. The important work of sermon-revision
was also left almost entirely in the hands of those upon whom it had devolved
during his long illness, the only exceptions being the two notable discourses,
"Gratitude for Deliverance from the Grave," and "A Stanza of Deliverance,"
intended for reading on the first and last Lord's-days in January, 1892.
The December number of The Sword and the Trowel opened with an article
by Mr. Spurgeon under the suggestive title, " .'^ .'* ?" In his usual graphic fashion,
368
H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
he described his own physical condition, and made use of it in suggesting enquiries
concerning his readers' spiritual state. In that paper, he referred to the two things
which were characteristic of a great part of his time of partial convalescence,— the
deceptive appearance of a return to health, and the fact that the deadly disease was
still firmly entrenched within his system, and ready at any moment to end his earthly
existence.
One great help to him was the bright sunshine in which he was able to spend
so much of his time. He almost lived in the open air, usually going for a drive in
the morning, and in the afternoon having a ride in a Bath chair, along the
Promenade St. Louis. This was the scene of the walking exercise in which he
engaged so perseveringly in the winter of 1 890-1, and of which he wrote in the
letters mentioned in Chapter CIV.
A favourite route for a short drive was, around the Boulevard Victoria, and
along the breakwater, as Mr. Spurgeon always admired the view of the old town
across the harbour.
THE OLD TOWN, MENTONE, AS SEEN FROM THE BREAKWATER.
One of the longest and latest drives that the Pastor and Mrs. Spurgeon took
together was mentioned on a post card, written to Mr. Passmore, and which is
reproduced ii facsimile on the opposite page, with a view of the fountain to which
Mr. Spurgeon alluded.
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
369
THE FOUNTAIN ON THE TURBIE ROAD, NEAR MENTONE.
/u<.«-»*-^
tfk-'V-v^ ^.
o^
r^'
^ al
/^ (Vv..,-:,-^-^ — '^oJ--.^ /■'--^ '^^■-'■CZa-
t^^^
uA ^
''^ Z(M-t<_-^ Jt^^j-jO,^ ^c-cr^;->-- <_V' V
X n *<^ ./--*^ *v^
/^.^— ^^-^
FACSIMILE OF POST CARD FROM MR. SPURGEON TO MR. PASSMORE.
The " telegram of sympathy to Sandringham " related, of course, to the
death of the Duke of Clarence. The scene upon which the travellers gazed
z 4
C. H. SPURGEONS AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
as they started on their return journey to Mentone is depicted in the following;
illustration.
VIEVV FROM THE FOUNTAIN ON THE TURBIE ROAD.
The events of those memorable months were described in detail in Th: Szvord
and the Trowel and the memorial volume, From the Pulpit to the Palm Branch,
but the principal incidents can only be briefly outlined here. On the New Year's
Eve and the following morning, Mr. Spurgeon gave, to a privileged circle of
friends, the two charming addresses, which he afterwards revised for publication
in the magazine, under the title, " Breaking the Long Silence."
He also conducted two short services in his sitting-room, on January lo
and 17, when he was persuaded not to attempt to give a new address, and rather
reluctantly consented to read portions of his early sermon on Psalm Ixxiii. 28, and
his Exposition of Matthew xv. 21 — 28. On the second Sabbath evening, — January 17,
1892, — before offering the closing prayer at the final service in which he took part
on earth, he gave out the last hymn he was ever to announce to a company of
worshippers here below. If he could have foreseen what was to happen only
a fortnight later, he could hardly have chosen a more appropriate farewell than the
poem founded on some words of the sainted Samuel Rutherford, —
" The sands of time are sinking.
The dawn of Heaven breaks,
The summer morn I've sighed for,—
The fair, sweet morn awakes.
Dark, dark hath been the midnight,
But dayspring is at hand,
And 'glory, glory dwelleth
In Immanuel's land.'"
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 37 1
On the two following days, the wind was very rough, so Mr. Spurgeon went
only for short drives ; but on Wednesday morning, he was able to go as far as the
little village of Monti. In the afternoon, signs of gout appeared in his right hand ;
later in the day, other serious symptoms were manifest, and he had to retire to
the bed from which he never again rose. Dr. FitzHenry, a faithful friend as well
as the Pastor's skilful medical adviser, had been in attendance upon him from the
time of his arrival at Mentone ; he did all that was possible to relieve his pain,
and prolong his precious life. Miss Thorne undertook the onerous duties of nifht
nurse in addition to almost continuous help to Mrs. Spurgeon durino- the day ;
Mr. Allison, Mr. Harrald, and Pastor G. Samuel rendered all the aid in their
power ; but it was soon evident that a great crisis was approaching, though there
were intervals of improvement which gave ground for slight hope. Towards the
end of the week, the Pastor said to his secretary, " My work is done," and spoke
of some matters in a way that indicated his own conviction that he was not ooincr
to recover.
Tuesday, January 26, was the day on which thankofferings were brought to
the Tabernacle, in grateful acknowledgment of the Pastor's partial restoration.
By that time, he had become so much worse that he was for a long while only
partly conscious ; but he had not forgotten the special character of the day, and'
he sent a telegram which, under the circumstances, was peculiarly significant : —
" Self and wife, £100, hearty thankoffering towards Tabernacle General Expenses.
Love to all friends'' That was his last generous act, and his last message; for,
shortly afterwards, he became totally unconscious, and remained so until five
minutes past eleven on the Sabbath night, — January 31, 1892, — when, like his
namesake, Mr. Valiant-for-truth, "he passed over, and all the trumpets sounded
for him on the other side." The five who " accompanied him to the riverside "
were Mrs. Spurgeon, Miss Thorne, Mr. Harrald, Mr. Allison, and Mr. Samuel.
When all was over, Mr. H. offered prayer, and Mrs. Spurgeon thanked the Lord
for the precious treasure so long lent to her, and sought, at the throne of grace,
strength and guidance for all the future. The answer to part of her supplication
came at once, for she was able to send to " Son Tom " at the Antipodes the brief
but comforting message, " Father in Heaven. Mother resioned."
In the meantime, the news was being flashed all over the world, and in every
quarter of the globe many felt a sense of personal loss as they read or heard it.
The telegraph wires at Mentone were speedily blocked with the multitudes of
messages to Mrs. Spurgeon, — the Prmce and Princess of Wales being among the
first to "desire to express their deep sympathy with her in her great sorrow."
The local regulations necessitated the removal of the precious body, from the
!72
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAI'IIV
hotel to the cemetery, within twenty-four hours, and then the bedroom was left
as it appears in the accompanyino- illustration. Mentone being- the home of the
MR. SPURGEONS BEDROOM AT MENTONE, AFTER HIS REMOVAL
flowers, many beautiful wreaths were sent by friends ; but Mrs. Spurgeon intimated
her preference for palm branches as the most suitable emblems of her dear
husband's victorious entrance into " the presence of the King." At the head and
foot of the olive casket, were plates bearing the following inscription ; —
In ever-loving memory of
Charles Haddon Spurgeon,
Born at Kelvedon, June 19, 1834 ;
Fell asleep in Jesus at Mentone, January 31, 1892.
" / have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faiths
In the early years of his visits to Wotton, in Surrey, the Pastor had always said
that he should like to be buried in the churchyard of that village. Later, he
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
0/ J
expressed the wish to He in the centre of the Stockwell Orphanage grounds, for he
thought that many would come to look at his grave, and then help the orphans in
whom he took so deep an interest ; but when the Electric Railway caused such
a disturbance to the Institution, he abandoned that idea. At one time, he said
he would like to be buried at Mentone ; but, after he had attended the funeral of a
friend there, he gave up that notion. Last of all, it was mentioned that he had
pointed to a site in Norwood cemetery, — in a far less conspicuous position than the
one ultimately chosen, — and ask-ed that it might be reserved for him ; so that, in
death, as in life, he might be surrounded by his church-officers and members, many
hundreds of whom are buried there. The Tabernacle deacons sent an urgent
request to Mrs. Spurgeon, asking that this might be the arrangement, and
generously offering to defray all expenses, and the matter was so settled. Before
proceeding to the railway station, a touching memorial service was held in the
Scotch Church, at the opening of which Mr. Spurgeon had preached a year before.
At the station, a photograph of the cortege was taken, and it is reproduced here.
THE FUNERAL CORTEGE AT MENTONE RAILWAY STATION.
■;-_l C. II. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
0/ ■+
The memorial and funeral services at the Tabernacle, from February 7 to 11,
were probably attended by not less than a hundred thousand people. A full account
of the proceedings appears in the volume, From the Pulpit to the Palm Branch,
but many volumes would be required to describe the different gatherings held
simultaneously, or on the following Sabbath, all over the world. Mrs. Spurgeon's
request that friends, who wished to send wreaths, would instead give the amount
they would have cost to the Institutions founded by her dear husband, was very
generally complied with, though there were a few choice floral oflerings of love.
Most of the palm branches, which surrounded the olive casket, were cut from the
very trees in the garden of the Hotel Beau Rivage, of which the Pastor wrote
in the letter which appears on page 344.
THE OLIVE CASKET UNDER THE PALM BRANCHES IN THE TABERNACLE.
The Bible on the top of the casket was the one Mr. Spurgeon had so long used
in the Tabernacle. It was opened at Isaiah xlv. 22 : " Look unto Me, and be ye
saved, all the ends of the earth ; "— the text which, on January 6, 1850, had been
C. II. SPURGEOf; S AUTOBIOGRAniY. 375
tlessed to his conversion. The volume remained in that position all the way
from Newington to Norwood, — as the sword of the warrior accompanies him to
the grave. Never had the South of London witnessed such a procession as,
that day, slowly mo\ed from the Tabernacle to the cemetery ; and never had
such crowds assembled along that route. More than eighteen years before, the
Pastor had given a description of the scene ; but probably even he had no
conception of the throng that would gather to do honour to his memory. At the
close of his sermon, on Lord's-day evening, December 27, 1874, he said: "In
.a little while, there will be a concourse of persons in the streets. Methinks I
hear someone enquiring, ' What are all these people waiting for } ' ' Do you not
know? He is to be buried to-day.' 'And who is that .-^ ' 'It is Spuro-eon.'
* What ! the man that preached at the Tabernacle ? ' ' Yes ; he is to be buried
to-day.' That will happen very soon ; and when you see my coffin carried to
the silent grave, I should like every one of you, whether converted or not, to
be constrained to say, ' He did earnestly urge us, in plain and simple language,
not to put off the consideration of eternal things. He did entreat us to
look to Christ. Now he is gone, our blood is not at his door if we perish.'
God grant that you may not have to bear the bitter reproach of your own
conscience! But, as I feel 'the time is short,' I will stir you up so lono- as I
am in this Tabernacle."
Though the scene along the route was striking, that presented at the cemetery
was, in some respects, even more so. The long line of ministers, and students, and
■other friends, all in mourning garb, reaching from the entrance to the grave itself, was
a sight that could never be forgotten by those who saw it. At length, the vast
throng clustered in a dense mass around and upon the slope outside the cemetery
chapel, where the last service was to be conducted. The principal part in the closino-
ceremony fell to the share of Pastor Archibald G. Brown, and nothing could have
been more beautiful, or more suitable, than his solemn and touching words. They
came straight from his heart : they entered thousands of other hearts. With o-reat
pathos and many pauses, he said : —
" Beloved President, Faithful Pastor, Prince of Preachers, Brother Beloved,
Dear Spurgeon, — -We bid thee not ' farewell,' but only tor a little while 'good-night.'
Thou shalt rise soon, at the first dawn of the resurrection day of the redeemed. Yet
is not the 'good-night' ours to bid, but thine. It is we who linger in the
darkness ; thou art in God's own light. Our night, too, shall soon be past, and
with it all our weeping. Then, with thine, our songs shall greet the morning of a
day that knows no cloud nor close, for there is no night there.
" Hard Worker in the field, thy toil is ended ! Straight has been the furrow
thou hast ploughed. No looking back has marred thy course. Harvests have
376 c. H. spurgeon's autobiography.
followed thy patient sowing, and Heaven is already rich with thine ingathered
sheaves, and shall be still enriched through years yet lying in eternity.
" Champion of God, thy battle long and nobly fought is over ! The sword,
which clave to thine hand, has dropped at last ; the palm branch takes its place.
No longer does the helmet press thy brow, oft weary with its surging thoughts of
battle ; the victor's wreath from the Great Commander's hand has already proved
thy full reward.
" Here, for a litde while, shall rest thy precious dust. Then shall thy Well-
beloved come, and at His voice thou shalt spring from thy couch of earth, fashioned
like unto His glorious body. Then spirit, soul, and body shall magnify thy Lord's
redemption. Until then, beloved, sleep ! We praise God for thee ; and, by the
blood of the everlasting covenant, we hope and expect to praise God vjitli thee.
Amen."
The memorial number of The Sword and the Trowel contained the following-
paragraphs, which will fitly close the account of that memorable season : — "While
we gathered around the grave, a little patch of blue sky appeared, just over our
heads, as if to remind us of the glory-land above ; and while Mr. Brown was
speaking, a dove flew from the direction of the Tabernacle towards the tomb, and,
wheeling in its flight over the crowd, almost seemed to pause. In ancient days, it
would have been an augury : to us, it spoke only peace. As the service proceeded,
a little robin poured forth its liquid note all the while from a neighbouring tomb-
stone ; the redbreast made appropriate music, fabled as it was to have had its
crimson coat ever since it picked a thorn from the Saviour's bleeding brow'. \\ ell,
we do not believe that ; but we believe what we sang at the grave, the truth that
Mr. Spurgeon lived to preach, and died to defend, —
" ' Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power,
Till all the ransomed Church of God
Be saved to sin no more.'
" Many remarked that the whole of the memorial services, unique as they were, were
characterized by a simplicity and heartiness completely in harmony with the entire life
of the beloved Pastor ; and it was most significant that, when the olive casket was
lowered into the vault, not even the glorified preacher's name was visible ; — it was
just as he would have wished it; — there was nothing to be seen but the text at the
foot of the coffin, and the open Bible. Of course, the Bible was not buried ; it is
not dead, it ' liveth and abideth for ever ; ' and who knows whether it may not prove,
more than ever, the means of quickening the dead, now that he, who loved it dearer
than his life, can no longer proclaim its blessed truths with the living voice ? God
cjrant it ! "
C. H. SPURGEON S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. "i^"]"]
After the sorrowing crowd had dispersed, the accompanying view was taken.
■■ ■^^;^ ' ' -'^J ■•?*''
Ji-^- "4:#»-
""■f""— '■/:;>:^.^"^v.
THE ULIVE CASKET IN THE lOMB AT NOKVVUOU CEMETERY.
On the day that the Pastor said to his secretary, at Mentone, " My work is
done," he added, with very pecuHar emphasis, " Remember, a plain slab, with
C. H. S. on it ; nothing more." The allusion evidently was to a gravestone, and it
was another indication of his humility. Those who were, at that time, responsible
for the arrangements were unwilling to carry out his wish, so they gave instructions
for the erection of the monument represented on the next page. The inscription on
AA 4
37^
C. H. SPUKGEONS AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
C. H. SPUKGEONS MONUMENT AT NORWOOD CEMETERY.
the lower part is copied from John Ploughman s Talk, with the substitution of Mr.
Spurgeon's full name instead of "John Ploughman." On the right-hand side of the
upper portion is the verse he always wrote in friends' album.s, when they asked for
his autograph and a quotation, —
" E'er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die;" —
with the following verse, describing- his present joyous employment, —
■'Then in a nobler, sweeter song,
111 sing thy power to save,
When this poor lisping, stammering tojigue
Lies silent in the grave."
Thus, even from the tomb, he continues to preach the gospel he loved to proclaim
while here, — the gospel of salvation by grace, through faith in the precious blood of
Jesus, — the gospel that tells of "redeeming love" and Jesu's "power to save." Oh,
that those who refused his message from the pulpit might accept it from the grave
and from the g-lorv !
GENERAL INDEX TO VOLS. l-IV.
M.B. — The illustrations in the Autobiography are not mentioned in tliis Index, as a separate list of them
is given in each volume.
Aberdeen, C. H. Spurgeon at, iii. 47 — 50
Aberfeldy, C. H. Spurgeon at, ii. 24, 106, 107
Abraham, Mr. Robert, iii. 365; iv. 115, 199, 200
Addlestone, C. H. Spurgeon preaching at, iii. 368,369
Advertisements in Australian newspapers, C. H. Spur-
geon's sermons prmted as, ii. 164; iii. 324^328
Agricultural Hall. C. H. Spurgeon preaching at the,
iii 30, 94—96 ; iv. 247
Alabaster, Mr. James, ii. 168, 169, 172 — 174; iii. 344;
iv. 199. 342, 348
Alabaster, Passmore, and Sons, Messrs., ii. 159, 168 —
174; iv. 363
Albert Hall, C. H. Spurgeon at the, iv. 192
Aldis, Rev. John, i. 275; ii. 142; iv. 262
.Allison, Deacon C. F., iv. 200, 350, 363, 371
Allon, Dr. Henry, ii. 261 ; iv. 147
Almshouses, Metropolitan Tabernacle, i. 313; ii- 126,
127, 173; ii-i. 253,308; iv. 15, 16, 20, 51, 249, 250
Alps, The, Holidays among, ii. 368 — 371, 374 — 376;
iii. 97, 98, 101 — 111, 114; Stor)- of accident on
glacier, ii. 2
Anderson, Mr. John (Glasgow), ii. 103, 106, 113, 131
Anderson, Rev. John (Helensburgh), ii. 103, 114 —
116; iv. 93
Angus. Dr. Josei>li, i. 241—244, 315. 347; ii. 173, 272,
280; iii. 135; iv. 161, 262, 281, 282
Antinomianism, i. 131, 177. 178, 192, 258 — 261 ; ii. 328
Arminianism and Arminians, i. 95, 124, 129, 168, 169,
170, 17G, 177, 259, 270, 271; ii. 105, 106, 150, 224,
225, 328 ; iv. 102, 301
Arnold, Matthew, iii. 61
.Auckland Tabernacle, iii. 323, 324; iv. 249
Augustine, i. 167, 177; ii. 87, 375
Baifern, Rev. W. Poole, ii. 180, 187
Panics, Rev. Charles Waters, ii. 35, 41, 262
Baptism and Baptists, i. 48 — 50, 69, 118 — 125, 129,
131, 133— '35. 138. 147— 155> ^11, 188, 288, 303;
ii. 3, 9, 72, 117—120, 128—130, 144, 145, 153,
i59,-i6o,_ 247, 248, 270, 274, 277, 327, 328, 354.
370; iii. i, 6, 7, 8 — 10, 16, 47, 66, 67, 82 — 87, 131,
139, ^62, 177, 178, 287—289, 318, 345, 352—355,
3G7; iv. 139, 210
Baptis-t Missionary Society (1858). ii. 338; (1S6S,) iii.
89, 90; (1881 j 111. 346
Baptist Union (1854), ii. 118; (1881,) ii. 219, iv. 150;
(1882,) IV. 151, 152; (1887— S,) iv. 254, 255,
262—264
Bartlett, Mrs., and her son, iii. 36 — 38, 114, 120, 251 ;
iv. 116
Ba.xter, Richard, and his works, i. 68, 80, 104, 283;
ii. 186, 264; iii. 43
Bennet, Dr. Henry, and his Mentone garden, iii, 238,
239; iv. 1, 3, II, 12, 196, 197, 200 — 203
Benson, Archbishop and Mrs., iv. 85, 104, 1S8, 189,
361
Berridge, John, i. 36, 192, 359, 368; ii. 77
Binney, Dr. Thomas, ii. 87, 88, 94, 261
Blaikie, Dr. W. G., iii. 49; iv. 143
Blessing on the printed sermons and books, ii. 153,
155, 162—164; iii- 323—337; iv. 27, 28, 95, 139,
156, 158, 160, 165, 173—175, 193, 246, 247, 309
Blood, Rev. William, ii. 344—351
Bonar, Dr. Andrew A., iv. 1Q3, 297
Bonar, Dr. Horatius, iii. 92 ; iv. 298
Boustead, Mr. E., iii. 162, 163
"Boy-preacher, The," i. 152, 199 — 251, 253 — 267,
269 — 284; ii. 5; iii. 49; iv. 41, 336
Bradford, C. H. Spurgeon at, ii. 25, 82, 109
Brady, Mr. Cheyne, iv. 47, 350
Bristol, C. H. Spurgeon at, i. 57, 72; iii. 369
Brock, Dr. \^'illiam, ii. 272; iii. 5, 16, 17, 85, 175/
287
Brown, Dr. David, iii. 49; iv. 297
Brown, Mr. Potto, i. 269 — 271
Brown, Pastor Archibald G., iii. 130 — 134; iv. 81,
246, 352. 375' ?>1^
Brown, Pastor Hugh D., ii. 26; iv. 332, i^t,
Brown, Rev. Hugh Stowell, iii. 8, 243; iv. 150 — 152
Brown, Rev. James Baldwin, ii. 260, 269 — 2S1
Bullfinch, The piping, and the opal ring, iii. 183 — 185
Bunyan, John, and his works, i. 23, 54, 86, 103, 154,
168, 20S, 240, 257, 283, 359; ii. 6, 51, 131, 264;
iii. 7, 47, 321 ; iv. 265, 268
Burgoyne, Sir John and Lady, iii. 11, 317, 318
Caird, Principal John, ii. 104, 115, 211
Cairns, Earl, iii. 319
Calvin, John, and his works, i. 113, 167, 176; ii. 11,
87, 112, 226, 352, 371—375; iv. 240, 241
;8o
GENERAL INDEX TO VOLS. L — IV.
Calvinism and Calvinists, i. 54, 55, 93 — 95, 121, 123 —
125, 130, 140, 144, 167— 17S, 20S, 270, 273, 275,
306 — 310, 340, 342; ii. 99, 105, 106, 116, 150, 225,
229, 247, 24S, 255, =67, 328; iii. I, 3, 6, II, 136,
137; iv. 102, 271
Cambridge, i. ^S, 129, 145, 185 — 197, 199, 202, 207,
208, 209, 211, 241—245, 253, 270, 271, 297, 29S,
316,341 ; ii. 97, 100
Campbell, Dr. John, ii. 201 — 204, 245, 262, 268, 269
33S. 35I- 352- 356—361 ; iii- 8— II, 345
Campbell, Lord Chief Justice, ii. 245
Cantlow, Rev. W. W., and his son, i. 122, 135, 151 —
153
Carr, Deacon B. W., i. 347; ii. 123, 322; iii. 19; iv
21, 25, 230—232, 246, 248
Carter Lane Chapel, i. 309, 311, 314. 347; ii- 329
Chaillu. M. Paul B. Du, and the gorilla, iii. 51 — 58;
iv. 296
Chalmers, Dr. Thomas, ii. 73, 77, 254; iii. 75
Charlesworth, Rev. V. J., iii. 177 — 179
Cheddar, C. H. Spurgeon preaching at, iii. 366, 367
Cheltenham, ii. 3 ; iii. 24, 26, 370
Christlieb, Professor, iv. 160
Church and State, ii. 360; iii. 7, 86; iv. 130
Church of England, Romanism in the, ii. 369,
370; iii. 87, 161, 310, 368: iv. 122, 123
Colchester, i. 8, 28, 31, 27, 44; 54) ic)4; I'lj 1S6, 211 ;
ii. 17
College [See Pastors' College)
College course, C. H. Spurgeon's proposed, i. 241 —
24S, 341. 343 ; iii- -
Collins, Pastor John. iii. 13, 28, 2q
Colportage Association, Metropolitan Tabernacle, ii.
128. 223; iii. 153, 160 — 166, 297, 308; iv. 13,
227, 249, 336
" Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam," iii. 88
Communion services. Tabernacle, iii. 11, 20; iv. 72,
135. 230; ^Nlentone. iv. 216, 366
Controversies (See C. H. Spurgeon as a contro-
versialist)
Conversions, Remarkaljle, i. 363 — 365; ii. 120, 159,
220, 227,
Ul. ^2C —
J-3 JJ/
161 164, 2
32-48
Cook at Newmarket, The old, i. 53 — 55
Co<jk. Deacon Thomas, ii. 316, ^^2^, 331, 332; iii. 31.
35
Cook, Dr. Joseph, iv. 98, 09
Cook. Mr. Thomas, and Mr. J. M., iv. 57, 157, 363
Cowper. William, i. 158, 282; ii. 153, 264; iii. 327; iv.
6- 93
"Cradled in the Holy Ghost,'' ii. 181
Criticisms (See Slanders and criticisms)
Cromwell, (jliver, iii. 46, 143, 189
Cruden, Alexander, iii. 68 ; iv. 302
Crystal Palace, i. 368; ii. 7, 13, 98, 107; iii. 55; iv.
49, 50; Fast-day service at the, ii. 239, 240, 255;
iii. 79, 94
Cuff, Pastor \\"., iii. 347, 370, 371
Cuyler, Dr. T. L., iv. 72, 172
Darwin, Professor, ii. 54; iv. 133, 134
D'Aubigne, Dr. Merle, ii. 371 — 374; iii. 76 — 78, 100
Deacons, i. 245, 255 — 25S ; ii. 3 — 5, 123 — 128, 307,
322, 323, 357, 358; iii. 5, 9, 15—23, 32—34, 38,
'37—139. 150, 151- 172, 313, 340; iv. 23—25, 230
—236, 237, 23S, 373
Death, C. H. Spurgeon's definition of, iii. 195
Deaths of — Alabaster, Mr. James, ii. 174; Albany,
The Duke of, ii. 159; Bartlett, Mrs., iii. 251;
Clarence, The Duke of, iv. 369; Cubitt, Professor
W., iii. 139; Gay, Miss Fanny, iii. 253 ; Gracey,
Principal David, iii. 130; iv. 330; Habershon,
Dr. and Mrs., iv. 116, 117; Higgs, Mr. W., sen.,
iv. 113, 114; Keys, Mr. J. L., iii. 201; Lovejoy,
George, iii. 202; Olney, Mr. H. P., iii. 251;
Olney, Mr. Thomas, sen., iii. 117; Olney, Mr.
William P., iv. 233; Passmore, 'Sir. Joseph, sen.,
ii. 174; Passmore, Mrs., ii. 174; Prince Consort,
The, iii. 72 — 75 ; Punshon, Dr. W. Morley, iv. 26 ;
Rogers, Principal George, iv. 330; son of Dr.
John Campbell, ii. 352; Spurgeon, C. H., ii. 78,
50, 103, 157; iii. 45, 178, 201, 202; iv. 5, 14, 163,
371; Spurgeon's, C. H., grandson, ii. 103; iii.
302; Spurgeon's, C. H., mother, iv. 177; Taber-
nacle church-members, iv. 19, 20; Thorne, Mr.,
iii. 201 ; Wright, Dr. William, iv. 159
Disestablishment, iii. 310, 359; iv. 130, 163
Doddridge, Dr., and his works, i. 104, 123, 150, 168,
282 ; ii. 153
"Doth Spurgeon serve God for nought?" ii. 127
Doudney, Dr. D. A., i. 254; iv. 106
Doudney, Rev. D. A., iii. 370; iv. 48
Dransfield, Elder, and the Misses, iii. 31, 242; iv. i
Drummond's Natural Law in the Spiritual Worh^
iv. 273
Dudgeon, Mrs., iv. 166, 210, 211, 215
Dummy volumes. Titles of, iv. 291, 292
Duncan, Mr. James, and " Benmore," iii. 356, 357,
362—364, 371. 372; iv. loi, 164
Early Closing Association, C. H. Spurgeon's sermon
for, 11. 336—338
Ecclesiastical Commissioners, iii. 153
Edinburgh, C. H. Spurgeon at, ii. 25, 100 — 11 i, 336
Elders, ii. 307, 357, 359; iii. 5, 22—25, 32—34. 3^;
iv. 82, 230, 231, 235, 236
Eliot, John, i. 35
Elven, Rev. Cornelius, i. 249 — 251, 289
Endowments, ii. 127; iv. 240, 233- 334
Epsom, C. H. Spurgeon preaching on the Grand
Stand at, ii. 339
Evangelical Alliance, iii. 86, 87
Everett, Professor J. D., i. 53 — 55, 251, 353; ii. 66
Exeter Hall, i. 36; ii. 20, 21, 25, 31, 43, 44, 45, 47,
51. 53. 55- 56. 59. 60, 64, 65, 67, 71, 75, 90—92,
99, 109, no, 119, 124, 161, 197 — 199, 203, 210,
211, 252, 27S, 313, 322, 341; iii. 2, 16, 30, 41,
86, 299, 346; iv. 23- 155. iS7) 'S8; licensed for
Dissenting worship, ii. 361
Extempore addresses, i. 365
GENERAL INDEX TO VOLS. L-
-IV.
381
Facsimiles of C. H. Spurgeon's manuscripts, i. 58,
215, 217, 236, 237, 267; ii. 7, II, 27, 32, 156, 157,
168, 170, 298, 299; iii. 64, 65, 67, 72, 188, 344;
iv. 24, 66, 67, 69, 75, 91, 206, 219, 316, 337, 369
Fergusson, Professor A., ii. 297; iii. 140, 141, 354;
iv. 330.331
Fletcher, Dr. Alexander, i. 34; ii. 28 — 32, 102, 204;
iv. 141, 159
From t/ie Ushers Desk to the Tabcritaclc Pulpit, ii. 219,
255,258
Frojii the Pulpit to the Palm Branch, iv. 370, 374
Fuller, Andrew, i. 131, 150, 152; ii. 271, 273
Fullerton, W. Y., Evangelist and Pastor, iii. 356;
iv. 334, 335
Garfield, President, at the Tabernacle, iii. 89
Gill, Dr. John, and his works, i. 148, 254, 308, 310,
341 ; li. 72, 264, 329, 356, 359; iii. I ; iv. 262, 300,
301 ; Dr. Gill's chair, iv. 262 ; Dr. Gill's pulpit,
ii. 357; iii. 140
Gladstone. Rt. Hon. W. E., ii. 238; iii. 341 — 343.
359; IV. 126, 127, 183—185, 209, 223, 342, 343,
358- 359
Glasgow, li. 23—25, 73, 103—108, III — 115, 336; iii.
5°' '3I5 357
"God moves in a mysterious way," i. 34, 36, 37; iii.
3^7 \ IV. 35
Gough, Mr. J. B., ii. 243; iv. 60, 84, 171
Gould, Mr. George, i. 299
Gracey, Principal David, iii. 130, 131, 139, 141, 140,
354, 355; iv- 269, 330, 331
Grandpierre, Dr., ii. 345, 348, 349
Grant, Mr. James, ii. 64 — 66, 71, 72, 117, 26c — 262,
268, 269
"Great-heart, Mr.," ii. 131; iii. 85; iv. 120
Greek, the Baptist's language, ii. 327
Greenwich, ii. 329; iii. 294, 295, 297
Greenwood, Deacon Thomas, ii. 126, 128; iii. 19;
iv. 200
Greville Memoirs, The, ii. 245
Hackney, Open-air services at, ii. 21, 92; iii. 364
Haddon, The origin of Mr. Spurgeon's second
Christian name, i. 9
Haddon Hall, Bermondsey, i. 10
Halifax, C. H. Spurgeon preaching at, ii. 218, 219
Hall, Dr. Newman, ii. 261; iii. 177; iv. 103, 155, 248
Hall, Rev. Robert, i. 187, 200; ii. 72, 73, 77, 271,
'^11,\ 111- 7, 75
Hamilton, Dr. James, i. 2 ; iv. 282
Hanbur)', Mr. Thomas, iv. 8- — 11, 202, 210
Harrald, J. W., ii. 82; iii. 179, 345, 371; iv. 77, 78,
82, 118 — 120, 197, 199, 200, 2zo, 221, 223, 339,
340, 348, 352, 363, 371
Hartley Colliery explosion, iii. 75
Harvesting Ants and Trap-door Spiders, iv. 206
Havelock, Lady, iv. 182; Sir Henry, iii. 5; iv. 182
Haverhill, C. H. Spurgeon at, ii. 86; iv. 357
" Helensburgh House " and garden, i. ^^'iy, 368 ; ii.
146, 282 — 289, 291 — 297; iii. 181 — 202, 342; iv.
14, 49, 51, 73, 171, 194, 291
Henry, Matthew, i. 250; ii. 115, 146; iii. 296
Herbert, George, ii. 186, 263, 266; iv. 304
Higgs, Mr. W., sen., ii. 321, 358; iii. 5, 14, '9, 170,
171, 182, 252; iv. 113, 200, 249; Higgs, 'Sir. W.,
iii. 1S2; iv. 200, 357, 363
Hill, Rev. Rowland, i. 34, 293, 359, 368 ; ii. 68, jj.
104, 244 ; iii. 10, 6i
Hillyard, Mrs., iii'. 167 — 172; iv. 321, 325
Hinton, Rev. J. Howard, i. 152; ii. 269 — 273. 281
Holland, C. H. Spurgeon preaching in, iii. 30, 81, 82
Holme, Dr. J. Stanford, iv. 274 — 277
Hood, Rev. E. Paxton, ii. 75 — 78
Hosken, Rev. C. H., ii. 145
Huntington, William, i. 2, 3, loi ; ii. 68
Hyper-Calvinists, i. 178, 256, 25S — 261, 310, 342;
ii. 37—41. 53, 83—86, 150, 224, 225
" I'll kill old Roads," i. 23
Infant sprinkling, i. 26, 49, 50, 14S, 150, 154, 153 ;
iii. 82—87, 345 •- IV. 1
Ireland, C. H. Spurgeon in, 11. 335, 339—342
Irons, Rev. Joseph, ii. 154; iii. 243; iv. 301
Isleham, i. 135, 147, 151 — 154, 275
James, Rev. John Angell, and his works, i. 104, 208,
209 ; ii. 326
Jay, Rev. William, i. 208; ii. 68, 77, iio; iii. 316
"Job," ii. 19, 37—41
Johnson, Dr. Samuel, i. iii ; ii. 249
Johnson, Mr. Samuel, iii. 25, 140
Joynson, Mr. W., ii. 313, 317
Keach, Benjamin, and his works, i. 305 ; ii. 159, 323.
329, 356; iii- 27, 28
Keys, J. L., ii. 82, 83; iii. 65, 200, 201; iv. 76, 270,
341
Kintore, The Earl of, iii. 47
Knill, Rev. Richard, i. 6, ;}^ — -38, 108, 231
Knowles', Sheridan, prophecy, i. 353
Knox, John, i. 167; ii. 77, iii ; iii. 368; iv. 248
Ladds, ^Ir. F. G., iii. 178; iv. 324
Lancashire Famine Fund, iii. 79
Lang, Mr. Andrew, re " Scrawls on Books," iv. 300
Latimer, Bishop Hugh, ii. 77, 243, 24S
Layard, Sir A. H., iii. 51 ; iv. 296
Leeding, Mr. E. S., i. 44, 45, 60, 133, 145, 1S6 — 197,
209 — 211, 244, 266
Letters, — {See also, C. H. Spurgeon, Letters to and
from,) Angus, Dr., to Mr. J. S. Watts, i. 243;
Barnardo, Dr., to Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon, iv. 191 ;
Bishop Bickersteth, to Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon, iv.
360; Blondin, to M. (hoax), iii. 55; Brown, Rev.
J. Baldwin, to The Freen,an, Ti. 280; Cuff, Pastor
W., to ;\Irs. C. H. Spurgeon, iii. 370, 371 ; Glad-
stone, Rt. Hon. W. E., to Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon,
iv. 358 ; " Habitans in sicco," to The Times, ii.
245, 247, 248; "Job," ii. 37—41; King, Deacon,
to C. H. Spurgeon's father, i. 245 ; Knill, Rev.
Richard, to C. H. Spurgeon's grandfather, i. 35 ;
Leeding, Mr. E. S., to C. H. Spurgeon's father,
i. 186, 209; re blessing through reading All of
Grace, iv. 309 ; re sermons in Australian news-
;S-
GENERAL INDEX TO VOLS. I. IV.
i6,
^ 133-
papers, iii. 325—327; Spurgeon, Mrs. C. H., to
-Mr. Gladstone, iv. 359; Spurgeon, Pastor J. A.,
to the Tabernacle deacons and elders,- iii. 34;
S. J. C, to Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon, ii. 235—239;
Tabernacle deacons and elders, to Pastor J. A.
Spurgeon, iii. 32—34; Taylor, Rev. Robert, to
Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon, IV. 152
Lewis, Mr. Henry, i. 44, 45, 1S6
Lewis, Rev. W. G., ii. 272; iv. 161, 162
Literary curiosities, ii. 164; iv. 194, 195
Liverpool, C. H. Spurgeon preaching at, iv. 151, 152
Livingstone, Dr. David, ii. 214, 215; iv. 143, 296
London Association of Baptist Churches, ii. 87—89,
119; London Baptist Association, iii. 30
London Banks' Prayer Union, iv. 187
"Look unto Me, and be ye saved," i. 60, 63, 103—
106, 109; iv. 137, 374
Lovejoy, George, iii. 201, 202; iv. i, 3, 6, 199
Low, Deacon James, i. 345, 347^ 35') 35^;
323) 350; iii- 16
Luther, Martin, i. 113, 283, 361; ii. 18, 77,
134, 352, 364; iii- 6, 137; iv- 248, 255, 257, 268,
278, 300
Lynch, Rev. T. T., ii. 260—269
Maidstone, i. 47 — 53, 186, 211
Marchant, Professor F. G., iv. 330, 331
Martin, Rev. Samuel, ii. 261 ; iii. 283; iv. 141
Maurice, Professor F. D., ii. 149, 271, 275, 281 ;
iv. 303
Maze Pond Chapel, ii. 91, 142
INIcKinney, Pastor W. D., iii. 140, 313
McLaren, Dr. Alexander, iii. 66, 238; iv. 257, 262,
280, 281
Medhurst, Pastor T. W., ii. 141 — 152, 183- 343; i"-
85, 138, 348, 352, 353; iv. 114, 127, :i33
Medical Prayer L'nion, iv. 187
Mentone, i. i; ui. 116—124, 137, 179, 237, 238, 341,
344, 350, 351 ; iv. 1 — 14. 16. 53' 61, 84, 106, 115,
116, 153, 154, 179- '8') 196—224, 227—229, 231 —
236, 256—264, 272, 294, 337— 353> 3(^3—373
Metropolitan Tabernacle, The, i. 59, 254, 304; ii. 15.
17, 34, 60, 82, 123—128, 173, 233, 238, 239, 293,
304, 305, 30()—333' 335> 33^'' 346- 347, 350, 353—
362. 375, 376; iii. I, 2, 4—13, 15—38, 45, 47. 5' —
58, 61. 72—94, 113—125, 128, 130, 132, 136, 13S,
152, 153, 159, 161, 167, 173, 191, 241—256, 295,
296, 301, 303, 307, 308, 317—320, 322—324, 327,
329, 330. 341, 342, 365; iv- 2, 4, 13- '4. 26, 30,
32—48, 50, 61, 62, 70—74, 78—82, 84, 85, 102,
105, 106, 112, 113, 123—125, 129, 130, 135, 137,
144—146, 155—157) 162—166, 109— 173, 176, 177,
182—184, 187, 188, 193, 224—236, 237—240, 242,
2j6— 251, 253, 265, 268, 273, 309, 336, 351, 353—
356, 358, 3^3, 374^ 375
Metropolitan Tabernacle, The, A million contribu-
tors to, ii. 361 ; architect of, ii. 319 — 321 ; iii. 5;
builder of, ii. 321, 358 ; iii. 5 ; iv. 113 ; burning of,
ii. 321; iii. 12, 153, 322; church-books, iii. 12;
collections and contributions per C. H. Spur-
geon, iii. 113; cost of, iii. 12; Country Mission,
iii. 24; iv. 84, 335; Evangelists' Association, iii.
24; iv. 84, 335; first meeting in, ii. 353 — 376;
foundation stone laid, ii. 322 — 330; meaning of
the name, ii. 361; "National Anthem," iv. 21;
open to all comers, iv. 73, 74; opening of, iii. 1,
2, 4 — 13, 16, 24, 27, 342, 344; piety and unity of
church at, iii. 254 — 256 ; prayer-meetings, iv. 80,
81; site for, ii. 316, 331, 332; iii. 13; size of. iii.
12; smaller Societies at, iv. 79, 80, 82, 84;
Sunday-school, iii. 152, 173; iv. 82; Sunday-
schools, Ragged schools, and mission-stations,
iv- 336
Mildmay Conferences, iii. 86; iv. 192, 193
^lills. Deacon W., iii. 19
Monaco and Monte Carlo, iii. 238; iv. 8, 211, 212
Moody, Mr. D. L., iv. 71, 160, 169, 170, 187, 246 — 24S
:\Iorley, Mr. Arthur, i. 58, 59
Morley, Mr. Samuel, iii. 68, 6g, 325
Miiller, ;\Ir. George, ii. 319; iii. 170, 173, 238, 239;
iv. 4, 13, 14, 173
Nature, Worshipping the God of, ii. 266; iii. 197
Naunt C. H. Spurgeon preaching at, iii. 370
Ness, r.stor Thomas, iii. 29, 30
New Kent Road, Mr. and Mrs. Spurgeon's first home
in, i. 45 ; ii. 181 — 192, 284
New Park Street Chapel, i. 229,250, 254, 299,315 — 321,
339)344—349' 351—353-358, 361—369; ii- 3— 5- 9,-
17, 20, 24, 28, 31, 32, 36. 42, 54, 56, 60, 63, 64, 66,
67- 7'- 73^ 81, 82, 87 — 89, 94, 98, 102, 116 — 124,
141, 145, 147, 150- '53- •54, 158, 173- 184, 189, 191,
197—199, 223, 224, 237, 253, 259, 260, 273, 304—
309. 311— 319, 322—324, 329, 330, 336, 353, 356;
iii. II, 13, 14, 22, 28, 88, 243, 340, 346; iv. 159,
275, 336; Sunday-school, iii. 36
Newmarket, i. 53 — 55, 117 — 125, 129^144, 147, 148,.
153, 182, 190
Newton, John, i. 117; 170, 282
Noel, Hon. and Rev. B. W., iii. 86
" Not more than others I deserve," ii. 190, 191
"Oak. The Question," at " Westwood," ii. 290;
iii. 192, 194—196; iv. 56, 133, 283
Olney, Mr. Henry P., i. 346; ii. 159; iii. 249, 251;,
Olney, Mr. John T.. i. 346; Olney, Mr. Thomas,
sen., i. 299; ii. 4 — 6, 82, 83, 198, 323; iii. 15 — 18,
172, 249; Mrs., ii. 4, St iii- i73; Olney, Mr.
Thomas H., ii. 126; iii. 17, 18, 19, 36, 187, 251;.
Olney, Mr. William P., i. 346; ii. 6, 123 — 125,
128, 142, 199) 323; iii- 19) 20, 31, 32, 35, 137,
168, 249; iv. 22, 25, 232, 233, 236; Olney, Mr.
William, iv. 246
Orphanage, The Stockwell, ii. 126, 12S, 173, 223;
iii. 30, 33, 119, 139, 161, i66 — 180, 242 — 244. 297,
308; iv. 49,60, 61, ^3, 78, 120, 126, 152, 181, 210,.
227, 249—251, 320-330
Orsman, Mr. W. J., iii. 69; iv. 246
" Over the water to Charlie ! " iv. 334
GENERAL INDEX TO VOLS. I. — IV.
383,
Paris, ii. 176 — 180; iii. 30, 115, 240; C. H. Spurgeon
preaching in, li. 344—351
Passmoie, Mr. Joseph, sen., i. 319, 320; ii. 136,
16S — 174, 362; iii. 19, 98, 102, 108, 186, 1S7, 211,
237, 344; iv. 3, 6, 199, 368, 369; Passmore, Mr.
Joseph, ii. 173; Passmore, Mr. James, ii. 173
Pastors' College, ii. 82, 92, 126, 128, 141 — 152, 173,
189, 223, 297, 309, 310, 356; lii. 4, 5. 30. 33' 53-
57, 58, 62, 63, 83, 121, 125—159, 173, 175, 177,
178—189, 192, 242, 249, 279, 281, 292—294, 297,
298, 308, 313—315, 346, 34S— 351, 352—357, 371 ;
iv. 6, 49, 53 — 57, 78, 84, 88, 89, 105, 120, 224,
227, 246, 247, 249, 250, 251, 254, 256, 267, 2S2,
283, 287, 314, 330 — 334; Pastors' College Evan-
gelical Association, iii. 87; iv. 332; Pastors' Col-
lege Library, ii. 146, 356;' iii. 355, 356; Pastors'
College Missionary Association, ii. 223 ; iv. 335 ;
Pastors' College Society of Evangelists, ii, 223,
308 ; iv. 334
Payne, Deacon W., iii. ig, 287
Pearce, Deacon S. R., iii. 25 ; iv. 246, 357
Perfectionists, i, 261 — 263
Pets, Sir S. Morton, ii. 315, 322, 324 — 326, 329; iii. 6
" Picking the angels' pockets! " i. 265
Pierson, Dr. A. T., iv. 177, 363
Pioneer Mission, The, iv. 335
"Ploughman, John," ii. 175, 306; iv. 147, 285, 378
Pocock, Mr. W. W. , ii. 319-^321 ; iii. 5
Portsmouth, C. H. Spurgeon at, ii. 219; iv. 150
Prayer, C. H. Spurgeon on, i. 77 — 79, 90 — 93, 115,
118, 120, 124, 130, 13s, 139, 141—143, 163, 361;
ii. 308,335; iii. 168, 173 — 176, 246 — 248, 28"!, 319,
329.' 347
Preachers and Preaching, C. H. Spurgeon on, i. 71 —
74, 90, 102 — 106, 108 — III, 115, 122, 123, 129 —
145, 147, 162, 169; ii. 165; iii. 48
Prevost-Paradol, M. , ii. 349
Primitive Methodists, C. H. Spurgeon and the, i. 105
— Ill, 158 ; iv. 84
Providential interpositions, ii. 96, 97, 183, 184, 218,
219, 236, 289, 290, 332, 233, 3b^)i i'i- 168, 173—
^77,. 183—185, 325—327) 329, 332; iv. 42—48, 51,
257—260, 322
Puritanorum, Ultinms, iv. 296
Puritans and their works, i. 23, 68, 80, 104, 177; ii.
19, 41, 55) 87, 149, 150, 158, 159, 225, 229, 257,
264, 271, 273 ; iii. 41, 61, 138, 147, 189, 190, 301 ; iv.
54, 146, 149, 203, 204, 265, 272, 280 — 283, 295, 296
Radstock, Lord, iv. 151, 186
Rainy, Principal Robert, iv. 163
Ramsgate, C. H. Spurgeon preaching at, ii. 97
Regent's Park College, i. 241, 315; iii. 135; iv. 161
Rice, Pastor W. E., iv. 46, 47
Richardson, Will, i. 290; iii. 313; iv. 286
Rider, Pastor William, i. 304; iii. 27
Rippon, Dr., i. 254, 303, 311, 317, 341, 347; ii. 72,
126, 173, 323, 329, 357, 359; iii. 3,9
Robertson, Rev. F. W., ii. 149
Robinson, Rev. Robert, i. 200; ii. yy
Rogers, Principal George, ii. 147, 148, 297, 356; iii. 5,,
57, 125, 128, 138, 159, 177, 352—355; 'V. 330, J31
Romanism, i. 57—66; ii. 362—365, 369, 370, 373,,
375; iii- 3j 203, 218—221, 236
Ritchie, Mr. J. Ewing (" Christo]5her Crayon ''), ii.
253—255. 260
Rothesay, C. H. Spurgeon at, iii. 371, 372
Ruskin, Mr. John, ii. 235, 288 — 290] iii. 99, 194 —
196; iv. 94, 185, 296
Sabbath, Observance of the, i. 70
Sawday, Pastor C. B., iii. 130, 134 — 136; iv. 3:;3
Scotland, C. H. Spurgeon preaching in, ii. 23 — 25.
73, 103— 114, 335, 336; lii. 30, 299, 371, 372
Selway, Professor W. R., iii. 140, 141, 148, 177, 276
Shaftesbury, The Earl of, iii. 238, 319, 325 ; iv. 90 —
92, 98, 99, 179, 209, 248, 252
Sherman, Rev. James, ii. 92, 118
Shindler, Pastor R., ii. 219, 255, 368; iv. 332, ^,7,7,
Shoreditch, C. H. Spurgeon preaching at, 11. luo
Short, Pastor A. G., iii. 371
Simpson, Sir James Y., iii. 1S5
Slanders and criticisms, ii. 18, 19, 21. ^2) — 'j'. 'oo.
120 — 122, 155, 159, 196, 200, 202, 207 — 212, 227,
=36. 253—255, 309, 310, 346—348; iii. 10, 48, 49,
56—58, 80, 335; IV. 17
Smith, J. Manton, i. 29; iv. 314, 334
Smith, Rev. James, i. 316, 347, 357; ii. 3, 173; iii. 24,
26, 316
Soul-winning, C. H. Spurgeon on, i. 230, 232; ii. 131
— 139
Southampton, ii. 219; iii. 29, 270, 271 ; iv. 150, 151
Spurgeon, C. H., among the costermongers, iii. 69,
70; and a cabman, ii. 131 ; and a coachman, ii.
133; and a madman, iii. 196; iv. 2oq ; and a
murderer, iv. 58; and a policeman, ii. iqi ; and
a poor Frenchwoman, ii. 284 — 286; and a poor
organ-grinder, iv. 209; and a stray dog, ii. 293;
and a thief, iii. 88, 89; and a waterman, ii. 131 ;
and an agnostic, iii. 360; and Canon JeflFreys,
i. 50; and College applicants, iii. 143—146; and
Dean Stanley, iii. 359; and "General" Booth,
iii. 341 ; and George Tinworth, iii. 360, 361 ; and
his bees, iv. 59, 60; and his dogs, iv. 60 — 62;
and hydropathy, iv. 53 ; and politics, iii. 341, 342 ;
iv. 125—127, 130, 132, 209, 342, 343; and Rev.
Mark Guy Pearse, iv. 162, 163; and reporters,
ii. 135 ; iv. 76 ; and rosemary, iii. 360 ; and
sailors, ii. 341, 342; and the butchers, iv. 90 ; and
the Jubilee Singers, iv. 84; and the judges, iii.
351; and "the Whitey-Brown brotherhood," iii.
132
Spurgeon, C. H., as a controversialist, re Baptismal
Regeneration, iii. 82 — 87, 346; iv. 115, 151, 107;
re Rev. Baldwin Brown, ii. 270 — 28 1 ; re ■' The
Down-grade," ii. 259, 269, 270, 2S1 ; iii. 86, 152,
161 ; iv. 27, 104, 167, 168, 253—264, 310, 332. 34'S;
re The Rivulet, ii. 262 — 26S ; as a father, iii. 273 —
285,287—304; iv. 1 — 14 ; as a grandfather, ii. 103;
iii. 302; as a husband, ii. 27, 175 — 193, 2^S3 — 286,
584
GENERAL INDEX TO VOLS. I.
-IV.
291 — 299; 'iii. 184 — 189, 203 — 240, 257 — 272; iv.
337 — 352, 365, 366; as a literary man, i. 52, 60,
187, 188, 192, 204, 210; iv. 159, 265 — 319; as a
lover, ii. 7 — 11, 13 — 21, 23 — 27; r^s a Sunday-
school teacher, i. 124, 134—138, 140 — 142, 144,
181 — 183, 210; iii. 49; as a tract-distributor, i.
118, 121. 124, 129, 132, 135, 137, 138, 140, 141,
144, 180, 181; as an open-air preacher, ii. 21,
92, 237, 343, 344, 363—372; as an usher, i. 54,
145, 163, 253; as captain of the ship, iii. 21, 27;
as the Delphic oracle, iii. 146; at a Quakers'
meeting, iii. 271
Spurgeon. C. H., founding the College, ii. 141 — 150;
Colportage Association, iii. 161 — 166; Orphan-
age, iii. 167 — 174; in the Colosseum at Rome, iii.
214; invited to New Park Street, i. 344 — 352;
killing a man by kindness, iii. 192, 194; listen-
ing to one of his own sermons, iii. 337 ; on amuse-
ments, iii. 40; on dancing, iii. 39; on gambling
and games of chance, or skill, ii. 367 — 369 ; iii.
39, 40, 238; iv. 211, 212; on giving advice, iii. 40,
41; on success in life, iii. 47 — 50; on the opium
traffic, iii. 44; on war, iii. 43, 44; preaching in
his sleep, ii. 1S9; preaching in John Calvin's
pulpit, ii. 372; iii. loo; preaching on an Ameri-
can man-of-war, iv. 197, 198; preaching thirteen
times a week, ii. 81 ; preaching till he was fifty-
seven, ii. 103; preaching to children, ii. 91 — 93;
refusing _;{^7,ooo, iv. 48 ; sleeping from Wednes-
day to Friday, ii. 240
Spurgeon's, C. H., addresses, special, iii. 66 — 71 ; be-
trothal, ii. 9; birthday, twenty-first, ii. 159;
thirty-seventh, iii. 246; thirty-ninth, iii. 268;
fortieth, iii. 93, 94; fiftieth, iv. 115, 237 — 252;
fifty-sixth, iv. 105, 120; brother and sisters, i. 10,
41, 118 — ^125, 130, 188 — 190, 194, 197; iii. 19, 31 —
30, 140, 141, 180, 194, 249; iv. 218, 246; child-
hood and youth, i. 14 — 31, ^;^ — 45, 47 — 55, 57 —
115, 117— 125, 127—155, 157—166, 179—197; ii.
236, 317; iii. 92; iv. 265, 266, 326; conversion,
i. 97 — 115; diary (1850), i. 127 — 146; early re-
ligious experiences, i. 67 — 115, 117 — 125, 127 —
153, 157 — 166, 178; essay on Popery, i. 57 — 66;
iv. 266; father and mother, i. 31, 40, 41, 48, 49,
54. 59. 67—71, 95, 102, 109, 117— 125, 133, 135,
143, 148, 151, 169, 186 — 192, 194, 196, 209, 228,
242—249, 286, 340—343; ii. 17, 26, 43, 44, 95,
loS ; iii. 8; iv. 246, 247; grandfather and grand-
mother, i. 15—31. 35—38. 43, 49, 77, 118, 119,
124. 142, 144, 148, 160, 162, 189, 207, 211, 343;
ii. 86, 94, 189; uncles and aunts, i. 10, 20, 23,
25. 26, 29, 51, 190 — 193. 205, 211, 2S7 — 289, 291,
349
Spurgeon's, C. H., first convert, i. 232; first and last
debt, i. --; ii. 183, 184, 361; iii. 1S3, 186; first
publications, ii. 153, 154; first sermon, i. 199 —
203; first sermon in the Tabernacle, iii. i, 5;
first sermon outlines, i. 213 — 226, 229, 230, 236,
-37j ^77 — 2S4, 296; first sermons in London, i.
321—337; ii- 3 — 5; first speech, i. 55; first visit
to Scotland, ii. 23 — 25, 73, 103 — 114; first words
in the Tabernacle, iii. i ; funeral and memorial
services, iv. ;^y^ — 378; generosity, ii. 123 — 128;
iii. 10, 176 — 179, 302; iv. 371 ; holidays, i. 57 — 66;
ii. 92, 93; iii. 203 — 240, 257 — 272, 281 ; iv. 86, 87,
196 — 224; home-going, iv. 371; humour, i. 265;
ii. 155, 170, 171, 172; iii. 68, 69, 178, 187, 1S8;
iii. 339 — 361; iv. 101, 102, 222, 223; illness, last
long, iii. 186; iv. 354 — 371; Jubilee, ii. 128; iv.
237 — 252; Jubilee Album, iv. 252 ; last message,
iv. 371; last service in the Tabernacle, iv. 356;
last services at Mentone, iv. 370; lectures, iii. 39
— 66; library, ii. 182, 183; iv. 280 — 304; mar-
riage, ii. 28 — 32 ; mid-week Sabbath, iv. 84, 85 ;
missionary, desire to be a, iii. 73 ; monument in
Norwood cemetery, iv. 378 ; pastoral silver wed-
ding, ii. 123 — 12S; iv. 15 — 22, 27, 144; poetry, i.
219, 293, 294, 300; ii. 298, 299; iii. 110, 187; iv.
223, 224, 313; punctuality, iii. 340, 341, 342;
salary at Waterbeach, ii. 128; salary given to the
Lord's work, ii. 125 ; sermon preparation, i. 206 — •
208, 217, 218; iii. 42; iv. 64 — 70, 88; sermon re-
vision, iv. 74 — 76, 78, 79, 81, 82, 239, 367; silver
wedding, 23 — 26; sons, ii. 126, 1S2, 190, 191,
193, 291, 295, 351, 352; iii. 16,91, 192, 273—283,
287 — 292, 324; iv. I — 14. 236, 246, 249, 256
Spurgeon's, C. H., letters concerning — Anglo-Israel-
ism, iv. 132; Annihilationism, iv. 124; Arbitration
versus war, iv. 135; attending banquets, iv. 104;
bell-ringing at Newington, iv. 123, 124; Breth-
ren and Brethrenism, iv. 137, 138; close-com-
munion, iv. 131; Disestablishment, iv. 130; Evo-
lution, iv. 133 ; Franchise Reform, iv. 132 ;
Funeral Reform, iv. 13S ; Gospel Temperance, iv.
12S, 129; grocers' licences, iv. 135, 136; Hebrews
vi. 4 — 6, iv. 102 ; Home Rule, iv. 127 ; infant salva-
tion, iv. 121, 122; lectures and sermons in the
United States, iv. 190 — in ; legacies, iv. 107, 108;
open-air baptisms, iv. 132 ; persecution of Jews in
Russia, iv. 128; pigeon-shooting, iv. 130; regis-
trars at Nonconformist weddings, iv. 127; Roman
Catholic Viceroy of India, iv. 126; Romanism in
the Church of England, iv. 122, 123; the theatre,
iv. 136, 137 ; unfermented communion wine, iv.
135; Vivisection, iv. 128; voting "as unto the
Lord," iv. 125
Spurgeon's, C. H., letters to — a former pupil, i. 195 ;
a friend in Dublin, iv. 95 ; a greatly-tried lady,
iv. 113; a motherless girl, iv. 118, 119; an afflicted
lady in Bristol, iv. 95 ; an octogenarian, iv. 5 ;
Anderson, Rev. John, iv. 93; Bartlett, Mr. E. H.,
iv. 116; Bartlett, Mrs., iii. 114; "Believers in our
Lord Jesus Christ," re Pastors' College, iii. 127 —
129 ; Bible-classes at Tabernacle, iii. 1 19, 120, 251 ;
Blood, Rev. William, ii. 345 ; Blunson, The
Misses, i. 350 ; boys at Stockwell Orphanage, iii.
119; Brown, Dr. David, iv. 297; Brown, Pastor
Archibald G., iii. 133 — 134; Culross, Dr., iv. 262
— 264; Curme, Rev. Robert, iv. 115; Doudney,
Dr. D. A., iv. 106; Editor of The Chelmsford
GENERAL INDEX TO VOLS. L
-IV.
385
Chronicle, ii. 52 ; Editor of North British Daily
Mail, ii. 108; Editor of The Morning Star, ii.
314; Feltham, Pastor F. J., iv. 116; Gladstone,
Rt. Hon. W. E., iv. 359; friends in Paris, ii.
351; Habershon, Miss Ada R., iv. ii6 — 117,
120; Hall, Dr. Newman, iv. 108; Higgs, Mrs.
W., sen., iv. 113, 114; his father and
mother, i. 59, 117 — 125, 188 — 192, 194, 196, 228,
242, 340 — 342; if. 44, 108; his sister Louisa, i.
194; "household of faith, all the," ii. 160; Kee-
vil, Mr. J., iv. 106; Knill, Rev. Richard, i. 37;
Matthews, Rev. E. W., iv. 101 ; Medhurst, Pastor
T. W., ii. 143, 144, 146; iv. 114, 127; ministers'
children, iv. 118 — 120; Minton, Rev. Samuel, iv.
124; Mitchinson, Rev. H. C, iv. 100; members
of new church at James' Grove, Peckham, iii.
254; Moubray, Mrs., iv. 101; New Park Street
Church, i. 352; ii. 160, 301 — 309; New Park
Street deacons, i. 317, 347, 356; New York Bap-
tist Ministers' Conference, iv. 97 ; Newdegate.,
Mr. C. N., M.P., iv. 122; Olney, iMr. Thomas
H., iii. 17, 18, 251 ; Olney, Mr. William P., iv.
100; Palmer, Canon, iv. 123, 124; Passmore, Mr.
Joseph, sen., i. 320; ii. 136, 170, 171; iv. 369;
Passmore, Mrs., ii. 171 ; Pastors' College ministers
and students, iii. 121, 155 — 159, 293; Peto, Sir
Morton, ii. 324 ; Philadelphia Conference of Bap-
tist ministers, iv. 252 ; re Lecture on the gorilla,
iii. 56 — 58; Richard, Henry, Esq., M.P., iv. 96;
Robins, Mr. E. Cookworthy, ii. 319; Ruskin, Mr.
John, iv. 94; Sawday, Mr., sen., iii. 134; Shaftes-
bury, The Earl of, iv. 98 ; Society of
Friends. The, iii. 71 ; Spurgeon, Mrs. C. H.,
ii. 17; iii. 185 — 188, 203 — 240, 259 — 272; iv. 197,
200, 207, 256, 257, 258 — 261, 337 — 352; Spurgeon,
Pastor Charles, iii. 278, 2S1, 285, 287, 290, 291,
294 — 300, 302 ; The Freeman and other papers,
re "Rivulet" Controversy, ii. 270 — 272,276 — 280;
Tabernacle Church, congregation, and deacons.
The, ii. 309; iii. 122^124, 203, 243 — 247; iv. 225- —
230, 233 — 236, 261, 362; Thompson, Miss, ii. 10,
16 — 18, 23 — 27; Varley, Mr. Henry, iv. 97;
Watts, Mr. J. S., ii. 97 — 102, 105, 126; Way-
land, Dr. H. L., iv. 103; Walton, Pastor C, iv.
95; Western Baptist Association, iv. 251; White,
Pastor Frank H., iii. 132; )'oung people at the
Tabernacle, iii. 115 — 118
Spurgeon, C. H., Letters to, from — A German col-
porteur, iv. 193; Allon, Dr. Henry, iv. 147; an
old orphan girl, iv. 325 ; Angus, Dr. Joseph, iv.
161, 281 ;. Bayley, Sir Emilius, iv. 297; Bayne,
Dr. Peter, iv. 241 ; Beith, Dr. Alexander, iv. 149;
Benson, Archbishop, iv. 361 ; Blake, Mr.
Thomas, M.P., iv. 187; Brown, Rev. Hugh
Stowell, iv. 151, 152; Chown, Rev. J. P., iv. 142;
Cruse, Rev. Francis, iv. 167; Culross, Dr. James,
iv. 146; Cutler, Mr. W., i. 345; Cuyler, Dr. T.
L., iv. 172; Denny, Mr. T. A., iv. 187; Dibdin,
Rev. R. W., iv. 159; Douglass, Mr. Frederick,
iv. 176; Evans, Rev. W. Justin, iv. 168; Fer-
guson, Dr. Fergus, iv. 299; Fletcher, Dr. Alex-
ander, iv. 141; Fortescue, Earl, iv. 359; Foster,
Rev. E. C. A., iv. 166; Garrett, Rev. Charles, iv.
153; Gladstone, Rt. Hon, W. E., 183, 184; Gor-
don, Dr. A. J., iv. 177; Gordon, Dr. J. F. S., iv.
164; Gough, Mr. John B., iv. 171; his grand-
father, i. 287; Hall, Sir W. King, iv. i.So; Har-
ford, Canon, iv. 153 — 155; Havelock, Lady, iv.
182, Haweis, Rev. H. R., iv. 167; Hodge, Dr.
A. A., iv. 299; Hughes, Rev. Hugh Price, iv.
148; Ladds, Mr. F. G., iv. 324; Lewis, Rev. W.
G., iv. 162; Louson, Mr. John, iv. 173; Low, Mr.
James, i. 351; Macgregor, Mr. John, iv. 180;
Martin, Rev. Samuel, iv. r4i ; Medhurst, Pastor
T. W., ii. 142; Mitchinson, Rev. H. C, iv. 100;
Moody, Mr. D. L., iv. 169, 170; Aloore, Rev. E.
W., iv. 166; Morton, Colonel R., iv. 193; Mouil-
pied. Rev. A. de, iv. 165; New York Syndicate
Bureau, iv. iii; Newdegate, ;Mr. C. N., ^LP.,
iv. 122; Nightingale, Miss Florence, iv. 178;
Olney, Mr. J. T., 1. 346; Olney, Mr. W., i. 346;
Pearse, Rev. Mark Guy, iv. 162; Perowne, Bishop,
IV. 298, 360; Pierson, Dr. A. T., iv. 177; Pun-
shon. Dr. W. Morley, iv. 25, 146; Radstock,
Lord, iv. 186; Rainy, Principal Robert, iv. 163;
re blessing on the printed sermons, ii. 162 — 164;
111- 324. 3-5' 3-S- 331; i^'- -7; '"'' sermons in
Australian news]3apers, iii. 324, 325 ; Reed, Sir
Charles, iv. iSi, 182; Richardson, Bishop, iv.
192; Rogers, Dr. J. Guinness, iv. 156; Ruskin,
Mr. John, iv. 94; Ryle, Bishop, iv. 298; Samj)-
son. Rev. W., iv, 149; Sankey, Mr. Ira D., iv.
170; Shaftesbury, The Earl of, iv. 99, 179, 252;
Sheldon, Mr. Smith, iv. 175 ; Simon, Rev. Henry,
iv, 163, 164; Smith, Rev. G. {re Essay on
Popery), i, 58, 59; Stanford, Dr. Charles, iv.
144—146; Stead, Mr. W. T., iv. 239; Stephenson,
Prebendary, iv. 168; Symes, Rev. Colmer B.,
iv. 155, 156; Tabernacle deacons and elders, iii.
242; IV. 230—233, 234; The Redpath Lyceum
Bureau, iv. 109; Thompson, Miss, ii. 18; Thomp-
son, Mr. Samuel, iv. 190; Thorne, Sir R.
Thome, iv. 1S6; Voysey, Rev. Charles, iv. 143;
Watts, Mr. J. S., iv. 25; Wayland, Dr. H. L.,
iv. 172; Weitbrecht, Mrs., iv. 160; Welldon,
Bishop, iv. 158; Wilberforce, Canon Basil, iv,
151, 155; Williams, Mr. Alfred, iv. 1S4; Wil-
liams, Sir George, iv. 188, 190; ^^■right, Dr,
William, iv. 158, 159
S]5urgeon's, C. H., Literary Works, i. 2, 57 — 66, 21^,
214; ii. 19, 27, 42, 92, 94, 135, 136, 153, 155—
161, 166, 167, 171, 174, 196, 197, 199, 214-217,
297, 306, 322, 334, 33S; iii. 35, 41—45, 58—61, 62
—65, 142, 165, 200, 253, 257, 263—269, 272, 276—
27S3 305—307^ 3"-
;iQ,
339- 3^3 ; iv. 49- 86,
105, 117, 146, 174, 170, 1S7, 103, 202, 204, 218,
239, 26S-271, 276, 27S, 2S3, 285, 20S, 3'>5-3'9-
353- 357' 3"-' 37'^
;86
GENERAL INDEX TO VOLS. L
-IV,
Spurgeon, Mrs. C. H., at Brighton, iii. 182, 184—
187; at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, ii. 15; iii.
9, II, 287; iv. 242, 240; m Paris, li. 174—180,
350; Introduction to C. H. S.'s Diary, i. 127—
129; "A Traveller's Letters Home," iii. 203—.
205 ; " A Holiday Drive to the New Forest," in.
257 — 259; "My Last Letters from Mentone," iv.
337 — 35- ' on " Love, Courtship, and Marriage,"
i. 4; ii. I — II, 13 — 21, 23 — 32; Saturday nights at
"Westwood," iv. 64 — 70; "the Mother of the
College," iii. 189; "Wedded Life," ii. 175— 193'
283 — 286, 291 — 299
Spurgeon's, Mrs. C. H., Book Fund, iv. 249, 293;
illnesses, ii. 95; iv. i, 2, 13; Ten Years of my
Life, iv. 70; Ten Years After! ii. 187; travels
on the Continent, iii. 97 — 112
Spurgeon, Charles, i. 9; iii. 192, 273 — 285, 287 — 304,
306, 352; iv. I, 246, 249, 286
" Spurgeon " in Chinese, i. 9
Spurgeon, J. A., i. 10, 41, 118 — 125, 130, 188 — 190,
194, 197; iii. 19, 31 — 36, 140, 141, iSo, 194, 249;.
iv. 218, 246, 278, 363
Spurgeon, Job, i. 8
Spurgeon, Thomas, i. 9; iii. 192, 193, 324, 327; iv.
I — 14, 236, 278, 371
Stalker, Dr. James, iv, 277, 278
Stambourne, i. 5, 6, 10, 13 — 31, ^2) — 3'^- 43i i44. i?'^-
287, 289 — 291; ii. 94, 189, 236; iii. 313; iv. 205;
ministers at, i. 19, 20, 24, 37, 290
Stanford, Dr. Charles, ii. 272; iii. 339; iv. 21, 144—
146
Steane, Dr. Edward, ii. 272 ; iii. 5
Stinton, Pastor Benjamin, i. 306; iii. 27, 28
Stockton, C. H. Spurgeon at, ii. 25, 109
"Stories" of C. H. Spurgeon, i. 368; ii. 43 — 47, 53,
57, 60, 84, 190, 191
Stowmarket, C. H. Spurgeon preaching at, iii. 371
Surrey Gardens Memorial Hall, iv. 357; Surrey Gar-
dens Music Hall, i. 36, 202 ; ii. 2,3' 43- 56, 60, 81,
124, 162, 198, 199, 201—239, 241—255, 288, 303,
310, 313, 313, 315, 318, 322—324, 335, 338, 339,
353; iii. 2, 12, 16, 30, 39; "Jews" at the, ii. 237;
Letter concerning services at the, ii. 235 — 239;
The great catastrophe at the, ii. 191 — 1Q3, 195 —
222, 242, 243, 303—305, 312; iii. 3, 80, 101 ; iv. 93
Sutton, Mr., of Cottenham, i. 271—4
Swindell, Mr. John, i. 54, 117—124
Tait, Archbishop, iv. 85
Tennyson, Lord, ii. 264; iv. 1S5
Teversham, i. 199 — 202
Text L'nion, The. iii. 306
Thompson. Miss, ii. 9, 17; iv. 341 ; her baptism, ii.
9; betrothal, ii. 9; marriage, 28 — 32
Thompson, Mr. and Mrs. R. B., ii. 14, 15, 16, 17, 19,31
Thorne, Miss E. H., iii. 201 ; iv. 363, 364, 371
Thorold, Bishop, iii. 310; iv. 85, 86, 104
Tollesbury, C. H. Spurgeon preaching at, ii. 95
Toplady, Augustus, i. 94, 168, 282 ; ii. 264
Translatirjn? rif C. H. Spurgeon's sermons and other
works, ii. 92, 339, 342, 369; iii. 313, 315, 324;
iv. 193, 241, 291, 306, 308, 311, 314, 319
Tring, C. H. Spurgeon at, ii. 82 — 86, 97
Trowbridge, C. H. Spurgeon at, ii. 93
Tydeman, Pastor E. A., iv. 44 — 46
Tyson, Mrs., iii. 172; iv. 49
United States and Canada, Sale of C. H. Spurgeon's
works in the, ii. 164 — 166; iii. 138, 313; iv. no —
112, 175
Usher, Dr. W., iii. 318; iv. 120
Vinter, Mr. James, i. 200
Wales, C. H. Spurgeon preaching in, ii. 93, 343, 344;
iii. 30, 369
W^alters_, Rev. William, i. 316; ii. 173
Waterbeach, i. 36, 38, 59, 188, 205, 213, 227 — 230,
232—240, 241—250, 253—267, 270, 271, 284, 287,
293 — 297, 316, 351; ii. 128; iii. 7; backslider at,
i. 238; deacons at, i. 245, 255 — 258; hypocrites
at, i. 258 — 260; miser at, i. 253; salary at, ii.
128 ; virago at, i. 235
Watts, Mr. J. S., i. 190 — 192, 243; ii. 97 — 102; iv. 25
Watts's, Dr., Catechism, i. 31 ; Hymns, i. 43, 275; ii.
§3' '53' 196, 264, 376; 111. 319, 347; iv. 329
Wayland, Dr. H. L., iv. 73, 103, 172, 176
Welldon, Bishop, iv. 157, 158
Wells, Rev. James, ii. 19, 36 — 41, 56, 142
Wesley, Charles and John, i. 176, 282, 365 ; ii. 47,
49, 51, 60, 91, 99; iii. 10, 47, 61, 362, 367; iv. 7,^,
248
Westminster Assembly's Confession, ii. 150; iii. 69
"Westwood," ii. 182, 1S3, 193, 255, 2S9, 290; iii. 102,
192, 194—196, 306; IV. 23, 49—62, 63—70, 73—
79, 81—92, 152, 153, 155, 157—159, 184, 187,
208, 234, 280-304, 343. 349. 364
" What doest thou here, Elijah ? " i. 24
"What doest thou there, Elijah? ' i. 178
White, Edward, Rev., iii. 283
White, Pastor Frank H., iii. 130 — 133, 157; iv. 193,
333
White's, Kirk, Letters, i. 117
White's Natural History of Selhorne, i. 44; iii. 259,
260
Whitefield, George, i. 157, 176, 359, 365; ii. 47, 49,
51, 60, 66, 67, 72, 77, 78, 91, 99, 104, 105, 114,
116, 142, 165, 203, 211, 243. 252, 253; iii. 10, 45,
367 ; iv. 26, 248, 304
" Why so Popular? " ii. 78
Wigney, Mr. Stephen, iii. 91, 163
Wilberforce, Crnon Basil, iv. 151, 155, 248
"Will his popularitt last?" ii. 60
Williams, Pastor W., ii. 220; iii. 356 v iv. 24S, 284,
311
Wilson, Pastor J. A., i. 152—154
Windermere, ii. 25, loq
Winsor, Deacon George, ii. 193, 323; iii. 137
Wotton, iii. 263, 300; iv. 372
Wright, Dr. William, iv. 158, 159, 273, 274, 296
Wycliffe, iii. 367, 369
Young's Xip^ht Thoughts, ii. 2G3 "
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